of  ^iteday. 


oenes  of  Character 
Sketchesof  Promi  nent 
Men  among  the 
Disciples  of  Christ. 
^  Thos.W.  Grafton.  + 


BX  7341   .G72  1899 
Grafton,  Thomas  William, 

1857-1940. 
Men  of  yesterday 


Men  of  Yesterday 


FEB  10  1 


A  SERIES  OF   CHARACTER  SKETCHES 
PROMINENT  MEN  AMONG  THE 
DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST. 


By  THOMAS  \V.  GRAFTON 

Author  of   "Life  of  Alexander  Campbell." 


WITH 


AX  IXTRODrCTION 

By  BEN'JAMIX  L.  .SMITH 

Secretary  of  the  American  Christian  Missionary  Society. 


ST.  LOUIS 

Christian  Publishing  Company 
1899 


COPYRIGHTED,  1899,  BY 

CHRISTIAN  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


To 

AXXA  BELLE  GRAFTON, 

THE  COMPAXIOX  AND  INSPIRATION' 
OF  JIV  lU  SV  LIFE, 
THIS  VOLUME  OF  SKETCHES  IS    A FFECTIOXATELY 
INSCRIBED. 


Digitized  by 

tlie  Internet  Arcliive 

in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/menofyesterdayseOOgraf 


PREFACE. 


There  is  no  more  interesting  or  profitable 
theme  for  study  than  the  life  of  a  true  man. 
When  that  life  combines,  with  courage  and  en- 
durance, the  elements  of  moral  greatness  and 
spiritual  sublimity,  it  becomes  an  inspiration  to 
noblest  endeavor. 

The  sketches  which  are  here  offered  to  the 
public  deal  with  a  class  of  men,  who,  in  making 
a  great  cause  triumphant,  are  deserving  of  the 
gratitude  of  thousands  who  have  been  blessed 
by  their  labors.  When  we  think  of  the  opposi- 
tion encountered,  the  unpopularity  incurred,  the 
sacrifices  made,  the  hardships  endured,  the 
results  achieved,  it  is  doubtful  if  a  modern  in- 
stance can  be  found  that  will  parallel  the  brave, 
noble,  consecrated  service  of  the  men  who  fol- 
lowed Alexander  Campbell  in  his  search  for  the 
scriptural  ideal  and  in  his  efforts  to  reproduce 
it  amidst  the  political,  social  and  religious  envi- 
ronments of  the  Nineteenth  Century. 

The  names  appearing  in  this  volume  by  no 
means  exhaust  the  list,  but  they  are,  I  believe, 
fairly  representative.  The  first  three,  Scott, 
Stone  and  Smith,  wrought  by  the  side  of  the 
great  leader  of  the  reformation  and  contributed 
in  no  small  measure  to  the  successful  establish- 
ment of  the  cause  of   primitive  Christianity. 

The  latter,  Errett,  Johnson  and  Burgess,  took 
(5) 


6 


PREFACE 


up  the  cause  at  a  critical  period,  rescued  it  from 
ultra-conservative  tendencies,  and  made  possible 
these  days  of  enlargement. 

It  was  the  privilege  of  the  author  to  know 
well  the  latter  group,  some  upon  terms  of  warm- 
est friendship,  and  to  hear  them  often  as  they 
stood  before  the  public  in  the  defense  of  the 
faith  delivered  once  for  all  to  the  saints.  For  his 
knowledge  of  the  earlier  group,  he  has  .been 
dependent  wdiolly  upon  the  literature  which  has 
pi'eserved  a  record  of  their  achievements.  In 
this  connection,  he  begs  leave  to  acknowledge 
his  indebtedness  to  the  earlier  writers  who  have 
told  the  story  of  the  lives  of  those  who  pioneered 
the  way:  Baxter's  "Life  of  Walter  Scott," 
Stone's  Autobiography,  Williams'  "Life  of 
Elder  John  Smith,"  Lamar's  "Memoirs  of  Isaac 
Errett,"  each  of  which  is  deserving  of  the  study 
of  evei'y  disciple.  He  desires  further  to  ac- 
knowledge the  helpful  service  rendered  by  Mrs. 
B.  W.  Johnson  and  Mrs.  O.  A.  Burgess,  each  of 
whom  has  supplemented  his  own  recollection 
of  their  revered  husbands,  with  facts  and  inci- 
dents that  are  worthy  of  remembrance. 

In  offering  this  volume  to  the  public,  it  is  the 
author's  sincere  hope  that  the  perusal  of  these 
worthy  lives  may  quicken  the  devotion  of  every 
reader  for  the  cause  which  they  served  with  such 
heroic  zeal. 

Rode  Maud,  Feb.  15,  1809. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


Introduction ^   <) 

I.    AV ALTER  SCOTT. 

I.    Early  Life    19 

IT.    Training  ix  a  New  Religious  School      .  24 

III.  Finding  a  Field   32 

IV.  Gospel  Tru'mpus  ix  Maxt  Places  30 
V.    Peculiarities  and  J'owek       ....  4~ 

VI.    The  Cocrs^  Finish  ED   .53 

II.    BARTON  \V.  STONE. 

I.    Early  Stkuggles   Go 

II.    Conversion  and  Call      ...  .71 

HI.    TuE  Great  Revival  at  Caneridge     .  77 

IV.  A  New  Declaration  of  Independence  85 
V.    The  Progress  OP  THE  Reform  MovEMEXT  .  90 

VI.    A  Golden  Sunset   9G 

1/ 

III.  JOHN  SMITH. 

I.    A  Child  of  the  Backwoods         .              .  107 

II.    Seeking  Assurance  of  Salvatiox            .  114 

III.  Wrestling  With  Doctrinal  Difficulties  .  124 

IV.  The  Triumph  of  THE  Refor-Mation      .  132 

V.  TuE^Cjx)siXG  Labor  of  the  Reformer        .  142 

IV.  ISAAC  ERRETT. 

1.    Early  Training  for  Work          ...  153 

II.     A    WOKK.MAN      that      NeEDETII      NOT     TO  BE 

Ashamed   1G2 

III.  Faithful  Service  ix  a  New  Field      .       .  174 

IV.  'I'he  Progressive  Leader       ....  184 

V.  The  Last  Years   193 

(T) 


8  CONTENTS 


y 

V.    BARTON  AV.  .JOHNSON. 

I.     Yol  TIlFUL  TjAIKiKS  ami   Am!!ITU)XS  .  201 

II.    FoiiM.vTn  i;  1  \  i' i.i  i: X(  i;^  \  n  i>  Kpfuh  i's  .  'Jl)~ 

III.  FiiriT^  OK  Tin;  KvKi.v  lUuvr^x  218 

IV.  In-  L.\i!cii:s  M,,hI';  Ahi  nd.vnt  .  .  227 
y.    HoMH  .\Mi  Hk.vven-   288 

■/ 

Vi.    OTIS  A.  BURGESS. 

I.     Yol  TlI   .\N1)  K.VKLY  L.\.B01tS         ....  251 

II.    Ni-w  Life  .vnd  Laboks   2.>S 

III.  I'll  I!  Ki;.iKi.E.ss  Defexdek  OF  THE  Faith       .  27'1 

IV.  Tin:  Closing  Years  of  a  Busy  Life         .  281 


INTRODUCTION. 


'he  final  analysis  of  any  movement  is  the  men 


that  are  behind  it.  Any  good  plan  will 
work  if  you  put  the  right  man  back  of  it  to 
work  it;  no  plan,  no  movement  reaches  large 
results  iznless  back  of  it  can  be  found  men  with 
large  plans  and  large  ideas. 

The  movement  for  the  Restoration  of  Apos- 
tolic Christianity  is  an  exemplification  of  this 
law.  It  had  a  glorious  plea, — the  union  of  all 
God's  people;  it  had  a  strong  platform, — "the 
Bible  alone  as  the  rule  of  faith  and  practice;" 
it  had  a  divine  creed, — "Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God:"  and  under  and  behind 
it  all,  it  had  God-gifted  men  to  advocate  this 
plea  and  to  win  for  it  success. 

No  truth  has  much  power  if  it  is  only  held 
abstractly;  it  must  be  embodied  in  a  man  and  be 
made  flesh  and  blood  and  dwell  among  us;  then 
it  becomes  effective,  and  the  larger  the  man  who 
embodies  the  truth,  the  more  effective  it  is. 

The  love  of  God  was  a  great  truth,  written  by 
God's  creative  fingers  in  earth  and  sea  and  cloud, 
manifested  in  food  and  shelter,  emphasized  in 
seed-time  and  harvest,  and  repeated  in  provi- 
dences innumerable;  but  it  was  not  a  control- 


(9) 


10 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


ling  truth  until  it  was  incarnated.  When  "God 
so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  niigiit  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life,"  then  the  truth 
had  power,  and  is  to-day  the  most  potent  truth 
in  the  universe. 

So  with  our  movement:  it  had  great  truths 
and  principles,  and  these  principles  became 
effective  through  the  great  men  who  gave  the 
cause  their  adherence  and  their  service. 

God's  tiuth  flows  through  human  channels, 
and  as  we  contemplate  these  lives  we  appreciate 
the  more  his  love.  There  is  no  more  interesting 
study  to  us  who  are  satisfied  to  be  simply  Chris- 
tian, and  who  take  God's  word  alone  as  the  rule 
of  faith  and  practice,  than  the  study  of  God's 
hand  in  our  history,  and  the  manifest  leadings  of 
providence  to  bring  our  feet  into  a  "larger 
place,"  and  to  give  us  the  glorious  liberty  where- 
with Christ  hath  nuide  us  free. 

Wycliffe,  Huss,  Jerome,  Luther,  Calvin,  Knox 
and  Wesley  did  God's  work  in  their  day  and 
generation.  No  man  has  improved  upon  the 
special  plea  made  by  Luther  for  Justification  by 
Faith;  no  man  has  pleaded  more  strongly  for 
Divine  Sovereignty  than  did  Calvin  of  Geneva; 
no  man  has  manifested  more  consecration  than 
Wesley;  no  man  has  excelled  Knox  in  courage 
in  his  struggle  to  save  Scotland  from  a  return  of 
Popery.  We  should  never  forget  the  little  monk 


INTRODUCTION 


11 


of  Wittenburg  as  he  stands  alone  before  the  Diet 
of  Worms,  and  is  commanded  by  the  representa- 
tive of  the  Pope  of  Eonie  to  retract  his  so-called 
heresies.  He  folds  his  hands  across  his  heart, 
and  after  a  moment  of  silent  prayer  he  utters 
his  immortal  sentence,  "Here  I  stand,  I  cannot 
do  otherwise;  God  help  me!"  "We  should  never 
forget  Wesley's  great  heart-cry,  "The  world  is 
niy  parish  I"  nor  Knox's  agonized  soul-cry,  "O 
God!  give  me  Scotland,  or  I  die!" 

While  we  rejoice  in  their  lives  and  their  work 
we  should  not  forget  that  their  work  is  not  yet 
complete.  They  tried  to  reform  the  church,  but 
after  a  generation  the  movements  they  inaugu- 
rated towai'd  reform  crystallized  into  creeds  and 
sects,  M'hich  in  turn  need  reforming. 

In  the  early  years  of  this  century  there  was 
marked  unrest  in  the  life  of  the  people.  The 
help  of  the  French  people  in  our  Revolutionary 
struggle  was  a  great  help  politically  and  a  great 
harm  morally  and  religiously,  for  a  flood  of 
French  infidelity  swept  over  the  country,  and 
following  it  a  tidal  wave  of  immorality  that 
swept  God  and  religion  and  morals  out  of  the 
thought  and  lives  of  many,  too  many,  people. 

There  were  some  souls  that  had  not  soiled 
themselves, — earnest  souls  that  cried  to  God: 
then  the  Spirit  of  God  led  men  in  various  parts 
of  the  United  States,  unknown  to  each  other,  to 
pray  and  plan  for  a  new  reformation,  which 


12 


MEN  OF  YKSTERDAY 


should  be  not  merely  a  roformation  in  the 
church,  but  indeed  a  restoration  of  the  Church 
of  the  New  Testament. 

Tills  spirit  of  reformation  manifested  itself  in 
Jam(>s  O'Kellv,  Abner  Jones  and  Barton  W. 
Stone,  even  before  it  found  adequate  expression 
in  tlie  movement  of  the  Campbells.  And  no 
sooner  had  the  latter  come  to  see  the  "heavenly 
vision," — the  vision-of  the  union  of  all  God's 
people  on  the  ])asis  of  God's  word  as  the  only 
rule  of  faith  and  i)ractice,  than  other  noble 
spirits  were  enabled,  by  their  leadership,  to  look 
throu<ih  the  fogs  raised  by  theological  discus- 
sion, through  the  mists  and  mysticism  of  human 
creeds  and  tlie  traditions  of  men,  and  to  see, 
even  though  at  first  dimly,  the  splendid  vision  of 
the  Chui-ch  of  God,  freed  from  man-made  creeds 
and  discipline,  and  standing  forth  in  her  primi- 
tive simplicity  and  beauty. 

Of  some  of  these  heroic  men  we  are  told  in 
the  following  pages.  T.  W.  Grafton  is  espe- 
cially fitted  to  tell  us  the  story  of  the  lives  of 
these  worthies.  Most  of  them  he  knew  person- 
ally; of  tlie  others,  he  has  had  access  to  the 
innermost  sources  of  information  concerning 
them. 

One  matter  is  worthy  of  note, — the  intense 
opposition  of  the  sectarians  of  early  days  to  the 
plea  for  Cliiistinn  Union  as  our  fathers  made  it, 
and  another, — the  change  from  that  time  to  this. 


INTRODUCTION 


13 


Christian  Union  is  now  a  popular  theme;  the 
brightest  minds  in  all  religious  communions  have 
their  faces  set  toward  the  east  upon  this  great 
subject,  toward  the  east  whence  they  expect  the 
dawning  of  the  better  day.  But  when  the  fath- 
ers wrought,  it  was  a  very  unpopular  theme ;  it 
was  declared  impracticable,  undesirable,  and  im- 
possible; its  advocates  were  regarded  as  here- 
tics, and  as  such  cast  out  of  the  synagogue  of 
the  orthodox.  Not  only  was  the  teaching  of 
Christian  Union  counted  heresy,  but  almost  every 
step  of  the  way  toward  it  was  heresy.  Did  the 
fathers  jjlead  for  a  revision  of  the  translation  of 
the  Scriptures,  that  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  might 
be  move  plainly  made  known  to  the  men  of  this 
century,  it  was  accounted  heresy,  and  when  Alex- 
ander Campbell  published  a  revised  version  it 
was  widely  heralded  that  Mr.  Campbell  had 
made  a  Bible  to  suit  himself. 

When  the  fathers  pleaded  for  a  return  to  the 
Scriptures  as  the  rule  of  life,  it  was  called 
heresy  of  the  deepest  dye.  "I  would  as  soon 
depend  upon  an  old  almanac  for  conversion  as 
upon  the  Scriptures,  unless  miraculously  accom- 
panied by  the  Holy  Ghost,"  was  a  common  saj-- 
ing  in  those  elder  days.  In  the  case  "Our  Ortho- 
doxy in  the  Civil  Coui'ts,"  a  bona  -fide  trial  in 
Indiana,  a  minister  on  the  witness-stand 
said  that  while  he  would  not  pronounce  Peter  a 


14 


MEN  OP  YESTERDAY 


heretic,  yet  his  words  in  Acts  2:38,  capa- 
ble of  an  heretical  interpretation.''' 

But  the  heresy  of  the  fathers  has  become  the 
guiding  light  of  the  chikh-en.  Revised  transla- 
tions are  cver3'where,  human  creeds  have  lai'gely 
retired  from  sight  and  influence;  no  longer  are 
they  taken  into  the  pulpit  and  become  the  text- 
book for  sermons;  no  longer  are  the  teachings  of 
the  pulpits  measured  by  the  creed  rather  than 
by  the  Word  of  God;  now  not  many  members  of 
sectarian  cliurches  know  tlie  creed  under  which 
their  churches  are  working;  the  creeds  are  kept 
in  reserve  and  are  only  used  occasionally  by 
which  to  try  ministers.  The  Christ  is  coming  to 
his  own;  the  personal  Savior  as  the  object  of 
the  soul's  supreme  faith  is  being  realized ;  the 
scene  on  Transfiguration  is  being  repeated,  "And 
lifting  up  their  eyes  they  saw  no  man  save  Jesus 
only."  Thus  have  we  and  our  religious  neigh- 
bors entered  into  the  labors  of  the  fathers;  thus 
are  we  indel)ted  to  them  for  much  that  sweetens 
and  invigorates  our  religious  lives;  thus  are  we 
debtors  to  them  for  their  work  and  labor  of 
love. 

As  you  read  these  pages  note  some  things 
well,  and  note  to  imitate:  the  sublime  faith  of 
these  men  in  the  Christ  of  God,  in  the  Gospel 
of  the  New  Testament,  and  in  the  promises  of 
God.  By  it  they  wrought  wonders,  removed 
mountains  of  difficulties,   subdued  kingdoms, 


INTRODUCTION 


15 


wrought  righteousness,  out  of  weakness  were 
made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight,  and  turned 
to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens- 
Note  the  sacrifices  of  the  fathers :  few  of  them 
were  men  of  property,  yet  they  stopped  not  to 
count  the  cost.  It  meant  poverty,  it  meant  re- 
ligious and  social  ostracism,  it  meant  necessary 
absence  from  home,  it  meant  alienation  of 
friends;  but  they  went  out  not  knowing  whither 
they  went,  save  only  that  the  heavenly  vision 
beckoned  them  onward. 

They  had  something  they  called  the  "Cause." 
When  they  met  they  asked,  "How  is  the  'Cause' 
prospering  where  you  have  been?"  They  planned 
and  prayed  for  the  advancement  of  the  "Cause;" 
any  disgrace  was  dreaded  on  account  of  its  in- 
jury to  the  "Cause;" — the  Cause  of  causes  to 
them  was  the  Restoration  of  Apostolic  Chris- 
tianity as  the  basis  and  method  of  the  union  of 
all  God's  people,  and  in  poverty  and  in  tears 
they  sowed  the  seed  of  the  Kingdom;  in  the 
morning  they  sowed  the  seed,  in  the  evening 
they  withheld  not  the  hand,  and  God  prospered 
it  as  it  jileased  him. 

Note  for  hopefulness,  the  fruitful ness  of  these 
lives;  they  won  souls  by  the  hundred.  God  gave 
them  abundant  harvests  and  blessed  their  labors, 
and  when  their  sacrificing  labors  were  ended 
God  kissed  them  and  they  rested,  and  over  them 
we  can  repeat  the  Divine  Word,  "These  all  died 


16 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


in  faith,  not  having  received  the  promises,  but 
having  seen  them  afar  off,  and  were  persuaded 
of  them,  and  .embraced  them,  and  confessed 
that  they  were  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the 
earth. 

But  the  Announcer  must  not  longer  keep  the 
bidden  guests  from  the  Banquet;  enter  and  feast 
yourselves  on  the  rich  food  the  author  has  so 
carefully  prepared.  Benjamin  L.  Smith. 

Cincinnati,  0. 


WALTER  SCOTT. 


I. 

WALTER  SCOTT. 


The  greatest  man  in  the  world  is  he  who  is  most  like  the 
Savior  of  men;  who  lays  all  his  honors,  gifts  and  attain- 
ments at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  gives  him  all  the  glory.  It  is 
he  who  abounds  in  all  goodness,  purity  and  godly  fear.  It  is 
he  whose  soul  is  moved  at  the  wretchedness  of  mankind, 
and  is  only  concerned  to  see  men  redeemed  and  God  glorified 
through  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  he  who  has  the  least  taste,  and 
is  least  attracted  by  the  things  admired  and  pursued  by  the 
giddy,  gay.  ungodly  world  of  mankind,  while  he  glories  in 
the  l^ord.— Walter  Scott. 
18 


WALTER  SCOTT. 


/.    EARLY  LIFE. 


'he  name  of  Walter  Scott  is  inseparably  link- 


ed with  that  of  Alexander  Campbell  in  the 
cause  of  religious  reformation.  Near  the  be- 
ginning of  the  movement  which  led  to  the 
organization  of  the  Christian  Church,  these 
choice  spirits  formed  a  congenial  fellowship, 
which  w^as  only  broken  by  death.  Campbell  and 
Scott  bore  a  somewhat  similar  relation  to  the 
Nineteenth  Century  Reformation,  that  Luther 
and  Melanchthon  did  to  that  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  Or,  if  we  may  be  allowed  to  liken  the 
former  to  Paul  in  this  new  school  of  apostles, 
the  latter  was  the  counterpart  of  John,  the  apos- 
tle of  love.  Like  the  "disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved,"  Walter  Scott's  mind  dwelt  much  upon 
the  divine  glory  of  the  Master  and  the  super- 
natural claims  of  his  Messiahship. 

It  is  a  strange  coincidence  that  these  two 
leaders  of  the  new  religious  thought  in  America, 
should  each  have  descended  from  distinguished 
Scotch  ancestry,  and  both  have  stepped  out  of 
the  bosom  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 


(19) 


20 


MEN  OP  YESTERDAY 


Waltei'  Scott,  the  preacher  and  reformer,  was 
of  the  same  stock  as  the  illustrious  poet  and 
novelist,  Sir  Walter  Scott.  Both  could  claim 
relationship  to  heroes  celebrated  in  the  annals 
of  Scottish  history.  Preacher  and  poet  alike 
inherited,  besides  the  sterner  qualities  of  their 
countrymen,  keen  perception,  vivid  imagination, 
deep  emotion  and  great  tenderness  of  heart. 

It  was  the  inestimable  privilege  of  Walter 
Scott  to  be  well  born.  His  father,  John  Scott, 
was  a  man  of  liberal  culture  and  refinement  of 
manners,  and  possessed  of  rare  musical  talent, 
a  gift  which  he  used  in  the  support  of  a  large 
family,  as  an  instructor  of  music.  His  mother, 
Mary  Inues  Scott,  is  described  as  a  person  of 
beautiful  life  and  earnest  religious  devotion. 
She  had  a  gentle  nature,  keenly  sensitive  to  suf- 
fering and  sorrow.  An  illustration  of  the  depth 
and  delicacy  of  her  affection  is  presented  in  her 
untimely  death.  Her  husband  was  taken  ill, 
while  away  from  home,  and  suddenly  died.  So 
deeply  was  she  affected  by  the  intelligence  of  his 
demise,  that  she  immediately  fell  dead  of  a 
broken  heart,  and  both  were  buried  in  the  same 
grave. 

Walter,  the  sixth  child  of  this  devoted  couple, 
was  born  October  31,  1796,  in  Moffat,  Dum- 
friesshire, Scotland.  As  the  Scott  family  were 
all  strict  members  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland, 
Walter's  religious  training  was  not  neglected. 


WALTER  SCOTT 


21 


Under  the  kindly,  sympathetic  care  of  a  devoted 
mother,  his  receptive  nature  unfolded  its  beau- 
tiful traits  like  the  blossoms  of  springtime  under 
the  warm  rays  of  tjie  sun.  His  amiable  disposi- 
tion and  warm  sympathy  soon  made  him 
beloved  of  all  who  knew  him. 

At  a  very  early  age  he  gave  evidence  of  a 
decided  talent.  Though  the  resources  of  the 
family  were  only  moderate,  his  watchful  parents 
determined  to  give  him  every  educational  ad- 
vantage, the  mother  the  while  praying  that  the 
kirk  might  enjoy  the  service  of  his  rare  gift  of 
heart  and  mind,  a  purpose  which  Walter  himself 
seems  to  have  cherished  from  childhood.  The 
Scotch  family  of  the  old  school  sought  no 
greater  honor  than  to  have  a  son  at  the  univer- 
sity. Though  a  collegiate  education,  at  that 
time,  was  regarded  within  the  reach  of  the  sons 
of  the  wealthy  only,  in  this  devoted  family  the 
slender  resources  were  so  husbanded  as  to  enable 
Walter,  after  a  preparatory  course  at  the  acad- 
emy, to  enter  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
Here  he  pursued  his  studies  with  a  zeal  and 
success  that  fully  justified  the  labors  and  sacri- 
fices of  his  parents.  Perhaps  the  consciousness 
that  every  hour  of  privilege  was  purchased  for 
him  at  a  great  sacrifice,  helped  him  to  avoid  the 
follies  and  dissipations  then  prevalent  among 
his  fellow-students.  Certain  it  is  that  his  young 
life  was  unblemished,  and  that  a  foundation  of 


22 


MEN  OF  YEvSTERDAY 


character  was  laid  wliich  enabled  him  to  with- 
stand all  the  subsequent  storms  that  swept 
across  his  pathway. 

While  a  student  at  the  university,  an  incident 
occurred  that  finely  illustrates  the  unselfish  de- 
votion of  his  whole  after  life.  He  had  a  fine 
voice,  carefully  trained,  and  possessing  a  sympa- 
thetic strain,  which  few  were  ever  able  to  hear 
unmoved.  On  a  pleasant  evening  he  walked  out 
in  the  city,  and  not  returning  at  the  expected 
hour,  the  family  became  alarmed  at  his  absence. 
His  brother  James  was  sent  out  to  search  for 
him,  and  at  niidnio,ht  found  him  in  the  midst  of 
a  crowd,  singing  popular  Scottish  airs  and  stip- 
ulating, as  the  price  of  each  song,  that  a  collec- 
tion be  taken  for  a  poor  blind  beggar,  whose  af- 
fliction had  touched  his  lieart.  This  was  alwaj's 
characteristic  of  the  man.  His  whole  life  was  a 
song  of  sympathy  for  those  in  suffering  about 
him. 

After  completing  his  university  course,  while 
casting  about  for  a  place  to  plant  his  feet  and 
enter  the  service  of  his  race,  an  unexpected 
turn  of  affairs  changed  the  channels  of  his  life. 
His  mother's  brother,  George  Innes,  had  some 
years  before  emigrated  to  America,  and  hy  faith- 
fulness and  integrity  advanced  himself  to  a  place 
of  responsibility  in  the  government  service  in 
New  York  City.  Anxious  to  assist  his  relatives 
still  in  Scotland,  he  had  written  his  sister  to  send 


WALTER  vSCOTT 


23 


one  of  her  boys,  promising  what  assistance  he 
could  render  in  his  advancement.  Walter,  as 
best  fitted  by  education  for  the  opportunities  of 
a  new  country,  was  the  one  selected  to  go;  and 
as  the  plan  was  in  perfect  harmony  with  his  own 
wishes,  he  at  once  left  home,  arriving  in  New 
York,  on  July  7,  1818.  He  soon  obtained  em- 
ployment in  an  academy  as  Latin  tutor,  a  posi- 
tion for  which  he  was  eminently  qualified.  But 
in  this  position  he  did  not  long  remain.  He  was 
a  young  man  of  adventurous  spirit.  A  new 
world  spread  out  before  him,  and  he  determined 
to  press  on  toward  the  West,  of  which  he  had 
heard  glowing  reports  from  his  acquaintances  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  Having  resolved  to  see 
for  himself  the  country  of  which  he  had  heard 
so  much,  he  set  out  on  foot,  with  a  young  man 
about  his  own  age,  to  explore  the  regions  which 
were  beyond.  Over  the  same  route  traversed  by 
the  family  of  Thomas  Campbell,  some  eight  or 
ten  years  previous,  young  Scott  now  l)ent  his 
steps,  little  dreaming  that  he  was  following  in 
the  pathway  of  one  whose  fortunes  would  be  so 
strangely  blended  with  his  own. 

After  a  long  journey  on  foot  over  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains,  a  journey  that  to  him,  with 
his  keen  sympathy  with  nature  and  overflowing 
mirthfulness,  was  filled  with  delightful  experi- 
ences, he  reached  Pittsburg  in  the  early  spring 
of  1819.    As  his  purse  was  as  light  as  his  heart. 


24 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


his  first  concern  was  to  seek  some  employment. 
This  was  not,  then,  difficult  for  a  young  man  of 
his  attainments.  Men  of  scholarship  were  rai'e 
among  the  hardy  settlers  of  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania and  their  services  were  in  demand,  so  he 
was  not  long  in  securing  a  position  as  assistant 
in  an  academy  conducted  by  George  Fori^ester,  a 
fellow-countryman,  and  a  man  of  high  Christian 
principle.  This  meeting  with  Mr.  Forrester 
marked  a  turning-point  in  Walter  Scott's  relig- 
ious life,  and  secured  his  services  to  the  cause  of 
primitive  Christianity,  then  just  beginning  to 
claim  attention  outside  of  the  obscure  church  in 
which  it  had  been  cradled. 

//.    TRAININO  IN  A  NEW  RELIGIOUS  SCHOOL. 

The  young  scholar,  as  we  have  seen,  received 
his  classical  education  at  Edinburgh.  It  was  un- 
derstood that  he  should  enter  the  Presbyterian 
ministry,  when  the  unexpected  turn  in  fortune 
landed  him  in  America.  Without  relinquishing 
his  purpose,  he  entered  the  school-room  as  a 
stepping-stone  to  his  ultimate  life-work.  The 
school  at  Pittsburg,  which  he  entered  as  an 
assistant,  now  became  his  theological  seminary, 
its  text-book  the  Bible,  and  its  instructor,  that 
pious  man  of  God  with  whom  he  had  the  good 
fortune  to  be  associated,  George  Forrester. 
Under  the  guidance  and  inspiration  of  such  a 


WALTER  SCOTT 


25 


teacher,  Walter  Scott  soon  became  a  proficient 
scholar  in  the  Book  wliicli  was  later  to  become 
his  effective  weapon  in  the  dissemination  of  new 
religious  ideas. 

Mr.  Forrester  hud  been  trained  under  the 
Haldanes  ^  of  Scotland  before  coming  to  Amer- 
ica, and  had,  in  connection  with  his  school 
duties,  built  up  a  small  congregation  of  believ- 
ers who  shared  his  views.  Young  Scott  was  not 
long  in  discovering  that  his  employer,  though  a 
deeply  religious  man,  differed  widely  from  the 
traditional  doctrines  in  which  he  had  been 
reared;  and  Forrester  was  not  slow  in  impress- 
ing his  intelligent  assistant  with  the  superiority 
of  his  position  over  that  of  the  Presbyterian  and 
kindred  schools  of  religious  thought. 

Better  soil  for  the  planting  was  not  to  be 
found  than  that  presented  in  the  heart  of  Walter 
Scott.  He  was  a  sincere  truth-seeker.  He  loved 
the  Bible.  He  was  ready  to  accept  whatever 
could  be  clearly  proven  by  its  authority.  No 
sooner,  therefore,  did  he  learn  of  this  new  relig- 
ious movement  than  he  set  about  diligently  to 
test  the  correctness  of  his  employer's  views. 
Together  they  made  an  earnest,  prayerful  search, 
into  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures.    The  hours 


1  Robert  and  James  Haldaue  liad,  in  1798,  inaugurated  a 
movement  for  tbe  reformation  of  religious  societ}^  in  Scot- 
land; somewhat  similar  to  tlial  afieruard  advocated  by  Alex- 
ander Campbell  in  America. 


26 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


after  school  were  spent  over  the  Bible.  Mid- 
night often  found  Scott  turning  its  sacred  pages, 
or  on  his  knees  seeking  for  light  and  guidance. 

Tlie  result  of  this  painstaking  search  was,  that 
in  a  few  weeks  he  turned  his  back  upon  his  past 
religious  training,  convinced  that  human  stand- 
ards of  belief  were  without  the  sanction  of 
God's  Word.  This  conclusion,  we  may  be  sure, 
was  not  reached  without  much  anguish  of  spirit. 
He  further  discovered  that  though  he  had  ad- 
hered, in  all  strictness,  to  the  church  traditions, 
he  had  neglected  obedience  to  some  of  the  im- 
portant commands  of  the  Bible.  Like  Mr. 
Campbell,  among  his  first  discoveries,  in  this 
conscientious  search  for  truth,  was  the  absence 
of  scriptural  authority  for  infant  baptism,  and 
his  need  of  personal  obedience  to  a  command  so 
repeatedly  enforced  as  that  of  baptism  into 
Christ.  With  him  to  see  tlie  way  of  duty  was 
to  unhesitatingly  pursue  it.  He,  therefore,  an- 
nounced his  purpose  to  reject  all  autliority  but 
Christ,  and  in  ()I)edience  to  the  Divine  command 
he  was  immersed  by  Mr.  Forrester  and  united 
with  the  small  company  of  Ijelievers  to  whom 
he  ministered. 

Walter  Scott  at  once  proved  himself  a  valu- 
able addition  to  this  struggling  congregation. 
Although  he  did  not  at  once  take  a  public  part 
in  their  services,  his  genial  presence,  zealous  de- 
votion and  Christian  culture  were  the  inspira- 


WALTER  vSCOTT 


27 


tion  of  the  brotherhood.  He  humbly  accepted 
the  position  of  learner,  continued  his  diligent 
search  of  the  Scriptures  and  rejoiced  in  his  new- 
found faith. 

In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Forrester,  desiring  to 
devote  himself  exclusively  to  religious  work, 
turned  over  the  management  of  the  school  to  his 
talented  assistant,  a  position  for  which  the  latter 
was  well  qualified.  Mr.  Scott's  original  meth- 
ods of  instruction,  his  pleasing  manner,  his  fault- 
less character,  won  for  his  school  a  wide  patron- 
age. Had  success  in  this  line  been  the  goal  of 
his  ambition,  his  situation  would  have  proved 
eminently  satisfactory.  But  this  was  not  his 
ambition.  The  more  he  studied  his  Bible,  the 
more  he  felt  drawn  toward  the  ministry  of  the 
Word.  A  new  world  of  religious  truth  was 
gradually  unfolding  before  him.  He  soon  found 
that  even  his  teachers  in  this  new  i-eligious 
school  but  partially  apprehended  the  Divine  pur- 
pose and  method  in  the  world's  salvation.  From 
his  study  of  the  Bible,  especially  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  which  now  enlisted  his  attention,  the 
plan  of  redemption  began  to  take  form  in  his 
mind.  Conversion  had  always  been  a  perplex- 
ing subject  to  him,  but  in  the  light  of  this  book 
all  mystery  fled.  He  now  discovered  that  all 
who  heard,  believed  and  obeyed  the  glad  mes- 
sage of  salvation,  were  filled  with  peace  and  joy 
in  believing. 


28 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


While  pursuing  this  line  of  investigation  a 
small  tract,  sent  out  hy  an  obscure  congregation 
in  the  City  of  New  Yoi-k,  fell  into  Mr.  Scott's 
hands.  The  views  expressed  in  it  so  perfectly 
coincided  with  those  which  he  now  held,  that  he 
determined  to  get  acquainted  Avith  its  authors, 
feeling  that  such  an  association  would  add 
greatly  to  his  Christian  knowledge.  He,  there- 
fore, at  once  severed  his  connection  with  the 
school  and  set  out  in  his  search  for  more  light 
upon  the  great  religious  problems  that  now  con- 
sumed his  thought.  The  visit  proved  a  keen 
disappointment.  He  found  the  i^ractice  of  the 
church  much  different  from  what  he  had  been 
led  to  expect  from  their  publication.  So,  after  a 
short  sojourn  in  the  city,  with  a  heavy  heart  he 
continued  his  journey,  visiting  Baltimore  and 
Washington,  in  each  of  which  he  had  learned  of 
small  congregations  of  independent  believers. 
But  these  visits  only  added  to  his  disappoint- 
ment. These  early  attempts  at  religious  refor- 
;iiation  were  not  always  successful  and  often  re- 
sulted in  a  caricature  of  the  thing  attempted. 
"I  went  thither,"  he  says,  describing  his  fruit- 
less journey,  "and  having  searched  them  up,  I 
discovered  them  to  be  so  sunken  in  the  mire  of 
Calvinism,  that  they  refused  to  reform;  and  so, 
finding  no  pleasure  in  them,  I  left  them.  I  then 
went  to  the  Capitol,  and  climbing  up  to  the  top 
of  its  lofty  dome,  I  sat  myself  down,  filled  with 


WALTER  vSCOTT 


29 


sorrow  at  the  miserable  desolation  of  the  church 
of  God." 

His  drooping  spirits  were  cheered  by  his  re- 
turn to  Pittsburg,  after  a  journey  on  foot  of 
three  hundred  miles.  He  received  a  warm  wel- 
come from  those  who  had  learned  his  true 
worth,  and,  a  suitable  successor  in  the  school- 
room not  having  been  found,  a  handsome  salary 
was  pledged  to  secure  his  services.  Broken  in 
spirit  and  in  purse,  he  accepted  the  position  and 
continued  in  the  management  of  the  school  for 
several  years  with  remarkable  success.  But  his 
chief  delight  now  was  to  minister  to  the  little 
flock,  which,  robbed  of  a  pastor  by  the  sudden 
death  of  George  Forrester,  looked  to  him  for 
leadership. 

This  period  marks  the  growth  of  Walter  Scott 
in  scriptural  things.  His  reverence  for  Christ 
and  his  Word  led  to  the  constant  study  of  the 
Bible.  His  chief  delight  after  school  hours  was 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  It  was  in  these  hours  of 
communion  with  the  Spirit  of  truth  that  he 
made  his  final  dedication  of  himself  to  God, 
promising  that  if  "He  would  grant  him  just  and 
comprehensive  views  of  his  religion,  his  life 
!>lioul(l  be  spent  in  proclaiming  it  to  the  world." 

It  was  while  thus  engaged  single-handed  in 
working  out  the  problem  of  human  redemption 
that  the  pathway  of  a  recognized  champion  of 
reformation  crossed  his  and  led  him  to  his  tinal 


30 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


stand  in  the  defense  of  primitive  Christianity. 
That  man  was  Alexander  Campbell,  and  his  first 
meeting  with  Walter  Scott  tookplace  in  Pittsburg 
in  1822,  and  led  to  the  formation  of  a  friendship 
and  copartnership  in  the  work  of  reform  which 
continued  unbroken  till  death.  They  possessed 
many  elements  in  common,  had  been  reared  in 
the  same  school  of  religious  thought,  had  been 
driven  by  the  same  burning  thirst  for  truth  to 
the  Bible,  and  through  its  message  were  led  to 
pursue  similar  paths  in  their  search  for  accept- 
ance with  God.  The  following,  from  the  pen  of 
Eobert  Richardson,  beautifully  presents  the  pre- 
dominating characteristics  in  contrast  at  the 
time  of  their  first  meeting: 

"The  different  hues  in  the  characters  of  these 
two  eminent  men  were  such  as  to  be,  so  to 
speak,  complementary  to  each  other,  and  to 
form,  by  their  harmonious  blending,  a  complete- 
ness and  a  brilliancy  which  rendered  their 
society  peculiarly  delightful  to  each  other. 
Thus  while  Mr.  Campbell  was  fearless,  self- 
reliant  and  firm,  Mr.  Scott  was  naturally  timid, 
difiident  and  yielding;  and,  while  the  former 
was  calm,  steady  and  prudent,  the  latter  was  ex- 
citable, variable  and  precipitate.  The  one,  like 
the  north  star,  was  ever  in  position,  unaffected 
by  terrestrial  influences;  the  other,  like  the 
magnetic  needle,  was  often  disturbed  and  trem- 
bling on  its  center,  yet  ever  returning,  or  seek- 


WALTER  SCOTT 


31 


ing  to  return,  to  its  true  direction.  Both  were 
nobly  endowed  with  the  powers  of  higher  reason, 
a  delicate  self-consciousness,  a  decided  will  and 
a  clear  perception  of  truth.  But  as  it  regards 
the  other  departments  of  the  inner  nature,  in 
Mr.  Campbell  the  understanding  predominated, 
in  Mr.  Scott  the  feelings;  and  if  the  former  ex- 
celled in  imagination,  the  latter  was  superior  in 
brilliancy  of  fancy.  .  .  In  a  word,  in  almost 
all  those  qualities  of  mind  and  character  which 
might  be  regarded  differential  and  distinctive, 
they  were  singularly  fitted  to  supply  each  other's 
wants  and  to  form  a  rare  and  delightful  com- 
panionship." ^ 

They  at  once  recognized  in  each  other  kindred 
spirits  and  joined  hands,  and  with  Thomas 
Campbell  formed  a  trio  of  unsurpassed  genius, 
eloquence  and  devotion  to  the  truth.  Twenty 
years  later,  Alexander  Campbell,  referring  to  this 
meeting  in  a  letter  to  Scott,  wrote:  "We  were 
associated  in  the  days  of  weakness,  infancy  and 
imbecility,  and  tried  in  the  vale  of  adversity, 
while  as  yet  there  was  but  a  handful.  My  father, 
yourself  and  myself,  were  the  only  three  spirits 
that  could  co-operate  in  a  great  work  or  enter- 
prise. The  Lord  greatly  blessed  our  very  im- 
perfect and  feeble  beginnings,  and  this  is  one 
reason  worth  a  million  that  we  ought  always  to 
cherish  the  kindest  feelings,  esteem,  admiration, 

1  Memoirs  of  Campbell,  Vol.  1,  p.  510. 


32 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


love."  From  the  day  of  his  meeting  with 
Thomas  and  Alexander  Campbell,  Walter  Scott 
occupied  a  recognized  position  as  an  advocate  of 
religious  reformation,  and  was  one  of  the 
brightest  stars  in  the  galaxy  of  reformers. 

HI.    FIXDTXd  A  FIKLD. 

Having  now  unreservedly  dedicated  himself 
to  the  service  of  the  Lord  and  the  cause  of 
primitive  Christianity,  Walter  Scott  awaited  the 
opening  of  a  field  suited  to  his  peculiar  talent. 
In  the  meantime  he  kept  himself  busy  with  the 
work  nearest  at  hand.  He  possessed  splendid 
qualifications  for  teaching,  so  he  continued  to 
teach.  But  all  the  while  his  heart  was  burning 
within  him  to  get  out  and  help  wage  a  crusade 
against  sin  and  sectarianism.  He  had  come  to 
regard  the  sect  si^irit,  then  so  bitter,  as  the 
most  serious  barrier  to  the  triumph  of  the  Cross. 

The  little  church  in  Pittsburg,  formerly  min- 
istered to  by  George  Forrester,  looked  to  him  as 
the  spiritual  successor  of  their  lamented  teacher ; 
so  he  continued  to  break  to  them  the  bread  of 
life  at  their  weekly  assemblies,  without  remitting 
in  the  least  his  labors  in  the  school-room.  But 
this  did  not  satisfy  him.  He  longed  for  a  wider 
field.  He  felt  himself  possessed  of  a  message 
which  would  speedily  correct  the  religious  errors 
and  apathy  of  the  times,  and  he  craved  a  suitable 
opportunity  to  deliver  it. 


WALTER  SCOTT 


33 


His  meeting  with  Alexander  Campbell,  already 
noted,  was  a  providential  circumstance,  contrib- 
uting to  the  enlargement  of  his  field.  At  that 
time  Mr.  Campbell  was  planning  the  publication 
of  a  monthly  journal,  which  should  become  the 
exponent  of  the  movement  which  he  and  his 
father  had  inaugurated.  He  had  recognized  in 
Walter  Scott  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  abil- 
ity, and  at  once  took  him  into  his  confidence, 
and  urged  him  to  address  a  wider  field  through 
the  columns  of  the  proposed  journal.  To  this 
Mr.  Scott  readily  acceded,  and  it  was  at  his  sug- 
gestion that  the  name  "Christian  Baptist"  was 
adopted  as  the  most  suitable  title.  This  begin- 
ning of  labors  was  destined  to  continue  unin- 
terrupted to  the  end.  Scarcely  a  number  of  the 
"Christian  Baptist,"  through  its  seven  years'  ex- 
istence, was  issued  without  something  from  the 
pen  of  Walter  Scott,  and  each  article  breathed 
a  message  that  had  burned  itself  deep  into  his 
conviction.  It  was  the  modern  watch-word, 
"Back  to  Christ,"  stated  in  its  primitive  form, — 
"Jesus  is  the  Christ."  This  truth  was  the  rock 
upon  which  he  had  planted  his  feet,  the  center 
and  circumference  of  his  religious  system. 

"Shut  your  eyes  to  it,"  he  wrote  in  his  Essay 
on  Teaching  Christianity,  "and  Christianity  is  a 
most  dark  and  perplexing  scheme.  Once  behold 
it,  and  you  behold  the  most  certain  and  substan- 
tial argument  for  love  to  God  and  men.  This 
3 


34 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


same  Holy  One  died  for  sin,  and  if  the  knowl- 
edge of  it  fails  to  influence  our  hope,  and  love, 
and  joy,  it  may  safely  be  said  that  the  Scriptures 
have  nothing  of  equal  weight  to  propose  for  this 
purpose.  That  man  is,  or  is  not  a  Christian, 
who  is,  or  is  not  constrained  by  this  grand  truth 
to  abandon  sin  and  live  unto  God,  and  this  is  all 
the  Scriptures  mean  by  the  word  Gospel,  in  the 
noblest  sense  of  that  term.  This  is  the  grace 
and  ])hilanthropy  of  God,  which,  having  ap- 
peared unto  all  men,  teaches  us  to  deny  all 
ungodliness  and  to  live  soberly,  righteously  and 
godly  in  the  present  evil  world."  ^ 

"In  my  humble  judgment,"  wrote  Isaac  Errett 
more  than  fifty  years  later,  "  the  most  thor- 
oughly revolutionary  element  in  Walter  Scott's 
advocacy  of  reformation,  and  that  which  has 
proved  most  far-reaching  in  its  influence,  is  just 
this  concerning  the  central  truth  of  Christianity. 
It  not  only  shaped  all  his  preaching,  but  it 
shaped  the  preaching  and  practice  of  the  re- 
formers generally,  and  called  the  attention  of  the 
religious  world  at  large  to  the  fact  that  a  person, 
and  not  a  system  of  doctrines,  is  the  proper 
object  of  faith,  and  that  faith  in  Jesus,  love  for 
Jesus,  and  obedience  to  Jesus  is  the  grand  dis- 
tinction of  Christianity." 

The  numerous  contributions  from  his  pen  at 
this  period  proved  their  author  to  be  a  man  of 


1  The  Christian  Baptist,  p.  37.      2  Addresses,  p.  320. 


WALTER  SCOTT 


35 


vast  knowledge  and  deep  discernment  of  spirit- 
ual things,  and  speedily  gained  him  a  reputation 
scarcely  inferior  to  that  of  the  editor  himself. 

While  thus  engaged  in  the  triple  service  of 
teaching,  preaching  and  writing,  Walter  Scott 
found  time  for  courtship,  which  resulted  in  his 
marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  Whitsett.  This  pious 
young  woman,  though  at  the  time  a  member  of 
the  religious  body  known  as  the  Covenanters,  was 
soon  won  to  her  husband's  views,  and  shared 
without  a  murmur  her  husband's  toils  and  pri- 
vations. Of  his  appearance  at  this  period,  one 
of  his  admiring  pupils  has  preserved  us  this 
picture : 

"He  was  at  this  time  about  twenty-six  years  of 
age,  about  the  medium  height;  slender  and 
rather  spare  in  person,  and  possessed  of  little 
muscular  strength.  His  aspect  was  abstracted, 
meditative,  and  sometimes  had  even  an  air  of 
sadness.  His  nose  was  straight,  his  lips  rather 
full,  but  delicately  chiseled;  his  eye  dark  and 
lustrous,  full  of  intelligence  and  tenderness; 
and  his  hair,  clustering  above  his  fine  ample 
forehead,  was  black  as  the  raven's  wing." 

Some  time  in  1826,  Mr.  Scott,  still  dissatisfied 
with  the  work  in  which  he  was  engaged,  closed 
his  school  in  Pittsburg,  and  having  secured  a 
successor  as  pastor  of  the  church,  removed  his 
family  to  Steubenville,  Ohio.  Failing  yet  to 
find  a  field  which  could  assure  him  sujiport  in 


36 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


the  ministry  of  the  Word,  and  being  wholly  de- 
pendent on  his  own  resources,  he  again  entered 
the  school-room.  Though  the  change  was  at 
first  attended  with  disapjjointment,  there  was 
something  almost  providential  in  his  removal 
within  the  borders  of  Ohio  at  that  time.  His 
new  situation  brought  him  within  the  limits 
of  the  Mahoning  Association  of  the  Baptist 
churches,  where  the  leaven  of  new  truth,  im- 
planted by  the  debate  between  Campbell  and 
"Walker  and  through  the  monthly  visits  of  the 
"Christian  Baptist,"  was « already  beginning  to 
work.  In  the  autumn  of  this  year,he  attended 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  Association,  and, 
though  not  a  member,  was  invited  to  deliver  one 
of  the  principal  addresses.  While  his  presenta- 
tion of  the  Gospel  message  was  with  an  origin- 
ality and  power  that  fixed  him  in  the  memory  of 
the  occasion,  nothing  came  of  it  at  the  time  in 
the  way  of  enlarged  opportunity;  and  he  re- 
turned to  his  school-room  in  Steubenville  so  dis- 
couraged as  to  abandon,  for  a  time,  further 
thought  of  securing  a  footing  in  the  ministry. 

If  God  could  not  use  him  in  the  pulpit,  he  now 
determined  to  try  and  render  him  service  in  an- 
other way.  The  success  of  his  contributions  in 
the  "Christian  Baptist"  led  him  to  conceive  the 
publication  of  the  "Millennial  Herald,"  a  paper 
to  be  devoted  to  the  defense  of  the  Gospel,  and  to 
the  advocacy  of  views  of  the  millennium,  in  which 


WALTER  SCOTT 


37 


he  bad  become  much  interested.  While  Walter 
Scott  was  preparing  to  embark  in  this  editorial 
enterprise,  Alexander  Campbell,  on  his  way  to 
the  Association  of  1827,  visited  him,  and,  after 
much  persuasion,  prevailed  upon  him  to  attend 
the  meeting  to  be  held  in  New  Lisbon. 

That  visit  became  the  turning  point  in  Scott's 
life,  giving  him  to  the  reformation  as  its  most 
accomplished  evangelist  and  committing  the 
Baptist  churches  of  the  Western  Reserve  to  the 
cause  in  which  he  was  enlisted.  The  Baptist 
churches  embraced  within  the  Mahoning  Asso- 
ciation were,  at  that  time,  with  few  exceptions, 
in  a  languishing  condition.  Conversions  were 
few  and  indifference  wide-spread.  A  few  zeal- 
ous spirits,  grieved  at  the  prevailing  indifference, 
urged,  as  a  means  of  putting  new  life  into  the 
work,  the  employment  of  an  evangelist,  who 
should  be  sent  among  the  churches.  Walter 
Scott,  though  not  a  member  of  the  association, 
was  chosen  for  this  important  work.  Distrust- 
ing his  own  abilities,  and  having,  on  account  of 
many  discouragements,  planned  for  himself  an- 
other career,  it  was  with  difficulty  and  only  after 
prayerful,  tearful  consideration,  that  his  consent 
was  secured  and  the  plans  of  his  life  changed. 
But  yielding  at  last  to  the  entreaty  of  his  breth- 
ren, he  accepted  with  all  his  heart,  and  dismiss- 
ing his  school,  giving  up  his  paper,  and  taking 
leave  of  his  family,  he  at  once  began  the  work 


38 


MEN  OF  YEvSTERDAY 


in  which  he  was  ultimately  to  distinguish  him- 
self. 

At  first  his  efforts  were  unsuccessful.  He 
had  studied  the  Word  of  God  long  and  prayer- 
fully. Its  message  and  method  had  smitten  his 
heart,  and  he  resolved  to  try  the  experiment  of 
preaching  the  Gospel  according  to  the  New  Tes- 
tament model;  but  after  his  earnest  appeals  no- 
body responded.  It  was  so  different  from  the 
revival  methods  in  vogue,  that  men  were  dis- 
posed to  question  rather  than  obey.  Instead  of 
giving  way  to  traditional  prejudice,  he  said  to 
himself,  "This  is  the  way  of  God,  and  ought  to 
succeed,  and  with  his  help  it  shall." 

After  two  or  three  unsuccessful  efforts,  he 
began  at  New  Lisbon.  Here  he  was  soon  to  wit- 
ness the  removal  of  the  barriers  and  the  triumph 
of  the  cause  that  was  near  his  heart.  On  the 
first  Sunday  after  his  arrival,  an  eager  throng 
filled  the  meeting-house  where  he  was  to  speak. 
He  preached  a  discourse  of  great  power,  unfold- 
ing the  procedure  ))y  which  men  were  made 
Christians  in  tlie  primitive  church,  and  uiiiing 
men  to  accept  Christ  upon  the  terms  offered  by 
Peter'onthe  day  of  Pentecost.  As  his  discourse 
drew  to  a  close,  an  intelligent  man  was  seen  to 
enter  the  door,  and,  at  the  invitation,  having 
heard  but  the  closing  sentences  of  the  sermon, 
he  pressed  through  the  crowd  to  accept  Christ 
upon  the  conditions  which  Mr.  Scott  had  quoted. 


WALTER  SCOTT 


39 


That  man,  William  Amend,  had  long  been  wait- 
ing for  such  an  opportunity  to  obey  Christ,  and 
now  became  the  first  fruits  of  a  mighty  revival, 
which  not  only  continued  to  attend  Mr.  Scott's 
ministry  from  that  moment,  but  which  spread 
with  its  Pentecostal  blessing  wherever  the  new 
way  was  proclaimed.  The  man,  endowed, 
equipped,  consecrated,  had  found  his  proper 
field,  and  from  that  day  the  name  of  A^'alter 
Scott  became  a  household  word  to  thousands  of 
disciples  whose  lives  were  touched  by  his 
blessed  ministry. 

IV.     GOSPEL  TRIUMPHS  IX  .l/.4.Yr  PLACES. 

The  work  which  opened  so  auspiciously  at 
New  Lisbon,  under  the  preaching  of  Walter 
Scott,  marked  the  beginning  of  a  new  revival 
era,  which,  in  its  far-reaching  results,  is  second 
only  to  that  of  Pentecost.  It  was  not  charac- 
terized by  the  deep  feeling  that  attended  the 
revival  of  religion  under  Jonathan  Edwards 
at  Northampton,  beginning  in  1740.  Nor  was 
it  the  scene  of  wild  excitement  and  strange 
bodily  exercises,  like  those  which  followed 
the  preaching  of  George  Whitfield  and  the 
early  ministry  of  Barton  W.  Stone.  It  was 
marked  by  a  quiet  thoughtfulness,  an  un- 
wonted searching  of  the  Scriptures  "whether 
those  things  were  so,"  and  a  final  decision  to 
obey  the  personal  Christ,  expressed  in  public 


40 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


confession  and  scriptural  baptism.  Based  upon 
an  intelligent  acceptance  of  the  Gospel,  it  was 
saved  from  the  peril  of  reaction  which  must 
follow  a  season  of  overwrought  feeling,  and  as 
a  revival  of  inexhaustible  power,  continues  to 
the  present  time  its  season  of  refreshing, 
wherever  the  simple  terms  of  the  Gospel  are 
faithfully  presented. 

The  conversion  of  William  Amend  confirmed 
Mr.  Scott  in  his  conviction  that  the  old  way, 
announced  by  God's  inspired  messengers  at 
Pentecost,  was  the  right  way.  So  the  invitation 
was  given  from  night  to  night,  and  large  num- 
bers became  obedient  to  the  faith. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  reformers  had 
none  of  them,  up  to  this  time,  thought  of  mak- 
ing such  a  practical  use  of  their  discoveries. 
Thomas  Campbell,  it  is  true,  had  many  years 
before  announced  as  his  platform,  "Where  the 
Scriptures  speak,  Ave  speak;  where  the  Scrip- 
tures are  silent,  we  are  silent."  Alexander 
Campbell,  in  his  debate  with  McCalla  in  1823, 
had  unfolded  the  design  of  baptism  in  terms 
almost  identical  with  those  now  used  by  Walter 
Scott,  and,  in  the  "Christian  Baptist,"  had  can- 
vassed the  whole  ground  of  practical  obedience 
to  God.  But  what  had  been  held  by  them  as  a 
theory,  was  for  the  first  time  used  as  a  method 
of  inducting  men  into  the  kingdom,  as  Walter 
Scott   called   upon   his   convicted    hearers  to 


WALTER  SCOTT 


41 


*'repent  and  be  baptized  in  tiie  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  for  the  remission  of  sins." 

There  had  been  widespread  lethiirgy  among 
the  churches  before  the  advent  of  Walter  Scott. 
The  Mahoning  Association,  though  made  up  of 
God-fearing  men,  was  no  exception.  Religious 
life  was  stagnant.  Conversions  were  rare.  The 
enemies  of  truth  were  defiant.  For  the  year 
1825,  the  seventeen  churches  which  comprised 
the  association  reported  only  sixteen  converts  to 
Christ.  The  success  of  Scott  in  arousing  the 
churches  and  winning  converts  soon  opened 
before  him  a  wide  field.  The  tidal  wave  of 
revival  once  set  in  motion  continued  to  rise. 
Appeals  came  to  him  from  every  side  for  assist- 
ance. 

For  the  work  which  now  consumed  his 
strength  he  was  eminently  qualified.  He  had  a 
voice  of  matchless  sweetness  and  persuasiveness. 
His  mind  was  well  stored  with  truth  and  gar- 
nished with  scriptural  imagery.  He  was  en- 
dowed with  a  rare  gift  of  language  by  which  the 
old  story  was  clothed  in  most  beautiful  form. 
His  heart  was  bursting  with  love  for  his  match- 
less Savior  and  sympathy  for  his  feliowmen. 
All  his  rare  powers  he  had  dedicated  unre- 
servedly to  the  Master's  use.  With  an  original- 
ity bordering  on  the  eccentric,  and  a  courage 
that  did  not  hesitate  to  speak  the  truth,  however 
unpopular,  he  succeeded  in  drawing  together 


42 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


multitudes  of  earnest  listeners  wherever  he 
went,  nor  did  he  fail  in  convincing  the  most 
intelligent  and  bringing  them  to  the  acceptance 
of  the  truth  he  preached. 

As  might  be  expected,  a  character  so  unique 
and  a  message  so  antagonistic  to  the  prevailing 
instruction  of  the  times,  would  soon  encounter 
opposition  and  misrepresentation.  The  members 
of  the  Baptist  Church,  for  the  most  part,  received 
the  Word  gladly  and  welcomed  the  evangelist; 
but  leaders  of  the  other  denominations  became 
bitter  in  their  opposition.  Preachers  warned 
their  flocks  against  him,  and  charged  him  with 
preaching  water  salvation  and  ignoring  the  need 
of  a  change  of  heart.  At  last  word  was  brought 
Alexander  Campbell  that  Mr.  Scott  had  become 
the  author  of  rank  heresy,  and,  fearing  lest  the 
young  preacher,  in  his  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  had 
been  carried  beyond  the  bounds  of  prudence,  he 
sent  his  venerable  father  to  learn  the  exact  state 
of  the  case.  After  a  visit  to  the  scone  of 
Scott's  labors  and  a  careful  ol).servuti()n  of  the 
course  he  was  pursuing,  Thonuis  Campbell  wrote 
his  son: 

"We  have  long  known  the  tlieory,  and  have 
spoken  and  published  many  things  correctly  con- 
cerning the  ancient  Gospel,  its  simplicity  and 
perfect  adaptation  to  the  present  state  of  man- 
kind, for  the  benign  and  gracious  purpose  of  his 
immediate  relief  and  complete  salvation;  but  I 


WALTER  SCOTT. 


43 


must  confess  that,  in  respect  to  the  direct  exhi- 
bition and  application  of  it,  for  that  blessed  pur- 
pose, I  am  at  present,  for  the  first  time,  upon 
the  ground  whei-e  the  thing  has  appeared  to  be 
practically  exhibited  to  the  proper  purpose."^ 

Notwithstanding  the  boldness  of  Mr.  Scott's 
preaching  and  his  independence  of  traditional 
forms,  he  was  well  received  by  the  Baptist 
churches  forming  the  association  for  which  he 
labored.  Wherever  he  went  among  them  they 
speedily  fell  in  with  his  way  of  thinking,  and 
most  of  them,  abandoning  their  creeds  and  cove- 
nants, determined,  henceforth,  to  be  governed 
by  the  Scriptures  alone. 

It  was  a  period  of  tireless  effort.  "With  his 
faithful  horse,  he  traveled  miles  between  ap- 
pointments, preaching  and  teaching  the  people 
wherever  he  went.  An  eye-witness  has  thus  de- 
scribed the  scenes  that  were  transpiring  contin- 
ually under  his  ministry: 

"It  was  not  uncommon  for  him  to  occupy  the 
court-house  or  school-house  in  the  morning  at 
the  county-seat,  address  a  large  assenil)ly  in  some 
great  grove  in  the  afternoon,  and  have  the  i)ri- 
vate  dwelling  which  gave  him  shelter  crowded 
at  night  to  hear  him  before  he  sought  his  needed 
rest.  Sometimes  the  interest  would  continue 
until  midnight;  and  in  those  stirring  times  it 
was  not  unusual  for  those  who,  on  such  occa- 


1  Life  of  Elder  Walter  Scott,  p.  15S. 


44 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


sions,  felt  the  power  of  truth,  to  be  baptized 
before  the  morning  dawned.  The  beautiful 
Mahoning  became  a  second  Jordan,  and  Scott 
another  John  calling  on  the  people  to  prepare 
the  way  of  the  Lord.  Everywhere  among  the 
new  converts  arose  men,  earnest  and  bold  as  the 
Galilean  fishermen,  telling,  too,  the  same  story, 
calling  their  neighbors  to  repentance  and  bap- 
tizing them  in  its  clear  waters."  ^ 

It  is  said  that  throughout  that  region  at  that 
time  nearly  every  convert  became  a  preacher, 
either  in  public  or  private;  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment became  the  daily  companion  of  every  be- 
liever. By  the  close  of  Mr.  Scott's  first  year  in 
the  evangelistic  field  he  was  able  to  report  a 
thousand  converts,  languishing  churches  re- 
vived, and  many  new  congregations  planted. 
So  remarkable  had  been  his  success,  that  he  was 
unanimously  chosen  to  continue  the  work,  and 
consented,  stipulating  only  that  he  be  given  "his 
Bible,  his  head  and  William  Hayden,"  a  zealous 
young  preacher,  as  an  assistant,  promising  with 
such  an  equipment  to  convert  the  world. 

Shortly  after  entering  upon  his  second  year  of 
evangelistic  labors,  a  call  came  to  Mr.  Scott  to  a 
field  where  victory  was  not  to  be  so  easily  won, 
and  where  he  was  to  experience  the  bitterness  of 
the  sectarian  hate  which  was  shortly  to  set  all 

1  Life  of  Walter  Scott,  p.  148. 


WALTER  vSCOTT- 


45 


those  who  sympathized  with  Mr.  Caiiiphell 
adrift. 

The  Baptist  Church  at  Sharon,  Pa.,  had  heard 
of  his  earnest  and  successful  hibors  among  the 
churches  of  Ohio,  and  invited  him  to  come  to 
their  aid.  As  soon  as  opportunity  afforded  he 
responded  to  their  call.  His  clear,  forcible, 
scriptural  presentation  of  the  truth  soon  led 
many  to  accept  the  Gospel.  Upon  a  simple  pro- 
fession of  their  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God, 
they  were  baptized  in  the  river  near  by.  This 
was  a  new  and  unprecedented  course  for  that 
place  and  time.  No  sooner  had  the  evangelist 
left  than  the  church  discovered  that  his- converts 
had  failed  to  conform  to  Baptist  usages.  They 
had  not  given  an  experience  before  a  church 
meeting.  Their  fitness  for  the  kingdom  had  not 
been  determined  by  the  accepted  tests.  It  was, 
consequently,  decided  that  they  could  not  be 
admitted  into  the  membership  of  the  church.  A 
serious  trouble  soon  arose.  Not  satisfied  with 
keeping  out  new  converts,  the  conservative  por- 
tion of  the  congregation  determined  that  all  who 
sympathized  with  the  new  converts  and  shared 
in  Mr.  Scott's  Avay  of  thinking,  should  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  fellowship  of  the  church.  The 
result  was  the  withdrawal  of  many  of  the  lead- 
ing members  of  the  church,  who,  together  with 
those  who  had  accepted  Christ  under  Mr.  Scott's 


46 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


preaching,  formed  a  new  organization  upon 
broad  New  Testament  principles. 

This  was  but  the  beginning  of  a  bitter  con- 
flict which  became  widespread  and  which  re- 
sulted in  the  complete  separation  of  Baptists 
and  those  who  accepted  the  principles  of  the 
reformation.  When  the  Mahoning  Association 
met  in  the  autumn  of  1830,  such  had  been  the 
leavening  influence  of  Walter  Scott's  evangelism 
that  it  disbanded,  and  so  ceased  connection  with 
the  Baptist  Church,  which  had  already,  as  a  de- 
nomination, repudiated  all  who  were  tinctui'ed 
with  the  principles  advocated  by  Alexander 
Campbell  and  his  co-laborers. 

It  was  at  this  point  that  Walter  Scott,  in  the 
estimation  of  all  friends  of  religious  co-opera- 
tion, "made  the  mistake  of  his  noble,  grand 
life"  by  leading  in  the  overthrow  of  organized 
religious  co-operation.  Regarding  the  Associa- 
tion as  "an  ecclesiastical  tribunal,"  he  labored 
to  accomplish  its  dissolution  in  opposition  to  the 
more  practical  judgment  of  Alexander  Campbell; 
and  men  like  William  Hayden  never  ceased  to 
deplore  it.  "It  was  at  a  juncture,"  wrote  Isaac 
Errett  fifty  years  later,  "when  the  condition  of 
numerous  infant  churches,  and  the  widening 
fields  for  mission  work  required  more  than  ever 
the  combined  wisdom  and  resources  of  the 
churches.  But  in  a  moment  of  rashness  this 
system  of  co-operation  was  dissolved.    The  in- 


WALTER  SCOTT 


47 


fant  churches  were  left  to  struggle  through 
the  perils  of  infancy,  or  to  die.  The  inviting 
tields  of  labor  that  opened  on  every  hand  were 
neglected  or  irregularly  occupied  by  any  preacher 
that  could  spare  the  time  and  labor,  and  the 
work  that  had  gone  so  gloriously  forward  under 
the  Association  suffered  seriously.  We  have 
been  trying  now  for  over  thirty  years  to  recover 
lost  ground;  and  to  this  day  we  reap  the  un- 
happy consequences  of  what  I  cannot  help  regard 
as  the  folly  of  that  hour."  ^ 

But  whatever  the  blame  attached  to  Walter 
Scott  in  this  matter,  it  was  shared  by  a  majoi-ity 
of  his  brethren,  and  was  the  legitimate  result  of 
the  relentless  war  which  was  being  waged  against 
ecclesiastic  domination  by  all  the  reformers. 

r.    PECULLilUTlHS  AXD  POITER. 

The  i)oint  at  which  we  have  now  arrived  in 
the  career  of  Walter  Scott  marks  the  zenith  of 
his  fruitful  life  and  affords  us  a  good  outlook 
from  which  to  survey  those  qualities  of  heart 
and  mind  which  endeared  him  to  the  people. 

He  was  yet  comparatively  a  young  man, — 
thirty-one ;  but  he  had  risen  to  a  position  second 
only  to  that  of  Alexander  Campbell  in  the 
esteem  of  the  brethren.  Never  before  had  he 
shown   himself   possessed  of   such  irresistible 

1  Linsey-Woolsey  and  other  Addresses,  p.  335. 


48 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


power  as  a  preachev;  and  seldom  again  did 
he  rise  to  the  height  of  impassioned  eloquence 
which  characterized  his  three  years'  evangelism 
among  the  churches  of  the  Western  Reserve. 
His  whole  nature,  always  intensely  fervid,  was 
aroused.  The  vast  multitudes  that  gathered  to 
hear  him,  and  the  constant  success  that  attended 
his  preaching,  called  forth  the  best  there  was  in 
him.  He  felt  that  upon  the  adoption  of  the 
principles  which  he  advocated  rested  the  victory 
of  truth.  It  was  not  the  narrow  zeal  of  a  bigot, 
but  the  broadening  spirit  of  Christian  liberty 
and  human  sympathy,  that  fired  his  souL  He 
saw  Christ,  and  Christ  only,  and  saw  in  him, 
rather  than  in  the  prevailing  systems  of  theol- 
ogy, the  hope  of  the  world's  redemption.  What- 
ever was  peculiar  in  the  preaching  of  this  man  of 
God,  was  born  of  intense  loyalty  to  Christ. 

These  were  great  years  in  his  life, — I  feel 
almost  justified  in  saying  that  they  embrace  all 
that  is  essential  and  enduring  in  his  life-work. 
At  a  critical  period  in  the  history  of  the  refor- 
mation, the  churches  among  a  most  intelligent 
people  were  won  to  the  cause  of  primitive  Chris- 
tianity. Furthermore,  in  them,  he  set  a  pace  in 
revival  work,  and  whatever  there  is  of  good  or 
evil  in  the  present-day  methods  of  revivalism 
among  the  Disciples  of  Christ,  may  be  traced  to 
him. 

In  his  method  of  winning  attention,  Mr.  Scott 


WALTER  vSCOTT 


49 


was  often  regarded  as  eccentric;  though,  in  fact, 
his  eccentricities  consisted,  for  the  most  part,  of 
a  deeper  sense  of  the  importance  of  Divine  truth 
than  that  jjossessed  b.v  most  men  of  his  time. 
He  felt  himself  anointed  of  (irod  to  lead  hi<  cliil- 
dren  into  the  larger  liberties  f)f  the  (lospel.  In 
his  zeal  as  the  messenger  of  the  Most  High,  his 
complete  self-forgetf ulness  sometinu'>  made  him 
api^ear  peculiar  to  cold  and  undemonstrative 
natures. 

His  novel,  original  methods  were  sometimes 
quite  surprising,  but  always  succes-^ful.  In  the 
absence  of  the  daily  paper  and  regularly  ap- 
pointed services,  he  would  often  resort  to  meth- 
ods of  his  own  in  announcing  his  presence  and 
mission  in  the  community.  On  one  occasion, 
meeting  a  group  of  children  on  the  road  home 
from  school  in  the  village  where  he  tlesired  to 
preach,  in  a  kindly  way,  with  good  humor  beam- 
ing from  his  face,  he  gathered  them  about  him. 
Gaining  their  attention,  he  requested  them  to 
hold  up  their  hands,  while  on  their  lingers,  be- 
ginning with  the  thumb,  he  marked  off  the  Gos- 
pel terms  in  the  order  in  which  he  had  formu- 
lated them,  —  faith,  repentance,  baptism,  the 
remission  of  sins,  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Then  he  had  the  children  repeat  with  him, 
"Faith,  repentance,  baptism,  the  remission  of 
sins,  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.''    Then  he 

had  them  say  it  over  again  faster,  until  thev 

4 


50 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


could  all  repeat  it  in  concert.  "Now,"  said  he, 
"run  home  and  tell  your  parents  that  a  man  will 
preach  the  Gospel  to-night  at  the  school-house, 
as  you  have  it  on  the  five  fingers  of  your  hand." 
The  children  ran  away  in  great  glee  with  their 
message,  and  at  the  appointed  hour  the  house 
was  thronged.  They  came  out  of  curiosity,  but 
were  soon  led  to  heights  of  spiritual  vision  of 
which  they  had  never  dreamed. 

On  another  occasion,  when  his  announcement 
brought  out  only  a  few  and  they  were  character- 
ized by  the  most  stolid  indifference,  instead  of 
going  on  with  the  service,  he  asked  all  who  were 
on  the  Lord's  side  to  arise.  No  one  stood  up. 
He  then  asked  all  who  were  in  favor  of  the 
devil  to  stand.  Still  there  was  no  response. 
After  a  thoughtful  survey  of  the  house,  he  re- 
marked that  he  had  never  seen  such  an  audi- 
ence before, — that  if  they  had  stood  up  either 
for  God  or  the  devil,  he  would  have  known  what 
to  do,  but  that  he  would  have  to  study  their  case 
and  try  and  meet  it,  and  that  on  the  next  even- 
ing he  would  gi.ve  them  the  result  of  his  reflec- 
tions. He  then  took  his  departure,  leaving  them 
in  amazement;  but  the  next  evening  the  house 
was  not  large  enough  to  hold  the  people  who 
came,  and  in  the  end  a  great  victory  was 
achieved. 

Another  characteristic  that  made  him  greatly 
beloved  by  the  people,  was  his  intense  sympathy 


WALTER  SCOTT 


51 


with  human  need  and  his  generosity  in  contribu- 
ting to  human  relief,  always  far  beyond  his 
means.  He  never  thought  of  his  own  necessi- 
ties, and,  I  fear,  sometimes  forgot  those  of  his 
family,  when  others  seemed  in  greater  need.  He 
was  always  ready  to  share,- though  himself  often 
reduced  to  the  extremest  poverty.  He  would 
sometimes  go  to  the  market  for  food  and  return 
with  an  empty  basket,  having  given  away  the 
money  with  which  the  purchase  was  to  be  made, 
either  to  friend  or  stranger,  whose  real  need 
seemed  to  be  more  pressing  than  his  own. 

The  largest  property  he  seems  to  have  owned 
was  two  cows,  and  this  possession  he  did  not 
long  enjoy;  for,  finding  a  neighbor  who  did  not 
have  any,  they  were  soon  on  an  equality,  each 
having  one,  the  only  diiference  being  that  the 
neighbor  had  the  best  cow.  One  intimately 
associated  with  him  at  that  period  writes : 

"These  Avere  pioneer  days — days  of  great  trials 
and  triumphs.  Bro.  Scott  enjoyed  the  triumphs 
with  a  keen  relish,  and  felt  the  crushing  weight 
of  pioneer  privations  and  trials,  as  only  such 
natures  as  his  could  feel.  He  had  embarked  his 
all  in  his  plea  for  the  primitive  Gospel,  and  at 
that  time  there  was  no  earthly  compensation  for 
such  labors.  He  was  poor,  very  poor;  while  I 
lived  in  his  family  it  was  not  at  all  uncommon 
for  them  to  be  almost  destitute  of  the  common 
necessaries  of  life.    He  was  a  great  believer  in 


52 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


prayer,  and  just  at  the  point  of  greatest  need 
help  always  came." 

But,  whatever  his  earthly  lot,  Walter  Scott 
had  an  unfailing  fountain  in  which  his  soul  daily 
delighted.  It  was  the  Word  of  God,  no  mere 
ornament  in  his  home,  but  his  companion  by 
day  and  the  subject  of  his  meditation  in  the 
night  watches.  He  loved  the  Bible,  and  he 
would  at  times  burst  forth  in  an  apostrophe  like 
this  : 

"Oh,  book  of  God!  thou  sacred  temple !  thou 
holy  place!  thou  golden  incense  altar!  thou 
heavenly  shew-bread!  thou  cherubim-embroid- 
ered vail!  thou  mercy-seat  of  beaten  gold!  thou 
Shekinah  in  which  the  Divinity  is  enshrined! 
thou  ark  of  the  covenant!  thou  new  creation! 
thou  tree  of  life,  whose  sacred  leaves  heal  the 
nations!  thou  river  of  life,  whose  waters  cleanse 
and  refresh  the  world!  thou  New  Jerusalem,  re- 
splendent with  gems  and  gold!  thou  paradise  of 
God,  wherein  walks  the  second  Adam!  thou 
throne  of  God  and  t.he  Lamb!  thou  peace-promis- 
ing bow,  encircling  that  throne  unsullied  and  un- 
fallen!  Image  of  God  and  his  Son  who  sit  there- 
on, what  a  futurity  of  dignity,  kingly  majesty  and 
eternal  glory  is  hidden  in  thee!  thou  art  my  com- 
fort in  the  house  of  my  pilgrimage !  Let  the  kings 
and  counselors  of  the  earth  and  princes  who  have 
got  gold  and  silver,  build  for  themselves  sepul- 
chers  in  solitary  places;    but  mine,  oh,  be  it 


WALTER  SCOTT 


53 


mine,  to  die  in  the  Lord!  Then  earth  to  earth 
and  dust  to  dust,  but  the  great  mausoleum,  the 
Word  of  God,  be  the  shrine  of  my  soul!"  ^ 

Vl.    TlIK  COURSE  FINISHED. 

The  story  of  the  remaining  years  of  Walter 
Scott's  life  must  be  briefly  told.  They  were 
busy  years,  not  unfruitful  of  results,  but  the 
great  victory  of  his  life  had  alread}'  been  won. 
Henceforth  his  energies  were  spent  in  his  Mas- 
ter's service,  over  a  wide  field,  in  many  use- 
ful labors;  but  never  again  was  he  confronted 
by  such  a  problem  as  that  presented  in  Eastern 
Ohio,  in  the  early  years  of  his  ministry,  and 
never  again  ditl  ho  witness  such  heart-cheering 
results. 

Although  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  his  severe 
and  unromittin<i'  toil  had  told  sadly  on  his  health. 
Afllicted  with  (lys|)epsia  and  depressed  in  spirit, 
he  ceased  for  a  time  from  evangelistic  lal)ors, 
and,  in  the  autumn  of  1831,  removed  to  the 
vicinity  of  Cincinnati,  leaving  behind  him  thous- 
ands whose  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  light 
and  life  and  joy  was  secured  by  his  logical,  scrip- 
tural, warm-hcaitcd  presentation  of  the  claims 
of  divine  truth. 

On  his  removal  to  Cincinnati,  he  attempted  to 
follow  the  revered  James  Challen  as  pastor  of 

1  Lifo  of  Walter  Scott,  p.  292. 


54 


MEN  OP  YESTERDAY 


the  church.  His  fame  had  preceded  him  and 
much  was  expected.  But  both  pastor  and  peo- 
ple were  disappointed  in  the  result.  Missing 
the  inspiration  of  great  audiences  and  hundreds 
of  converts,  he  fell  below  the  expectation  of  his 
hearers.  At  last  in  despair  he  wrote  Mr.  Chal- 
len:  "The  flock  are  sighing  and  pining  for  their 
former  shepherd;  you  must  come  back,  you 
alone  can  satisfy  them.  I  cannot  and  will  not 
consent  to  remain  with  them,  as  long  as  there  is 
any  hope  or  prospect  of  your  return." 

Not  long  afterward  Mr.  Scott  removed  to  Car- 
thage, a  village  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city.  He 
found  here  a  community  without  church  or  re- 
ligious privileges  other  than  a  Sunday-school, 
and  given  over  to  all  forms  of  vice  and  dissipa- 
tion. It  was  such  a  place  as  appealed  to  the 
sympathies  of  his  warm  nature.  They  were  as 
sheep  without  a  shepherd,  and  he  set  about  at 
once  gathering  them  into  the  school-house  and 
instructing  them  in  the  principles  of  the  king- 
dom. He  was  again  in  his  proper  sphere.  With 
a  heart  bursting  with  love  for  humanity,  he  wept 
and  prayed  and  talked,  until  he  had  those  who 
had  known  only  sin,  w^eeping  and  praying.  In  a 
short  time  the  entire  character  of  the  commu- 
nity was  changed.  Temperance  and  piety  took 
the  place  of  drunkenness  and  disorder.  A 
church  was  established  which  has  continued  to 
the  present  day  as  a  power  for  good.    Here  he 


WALTER  SCOTT 


55 


continued  to  reside  for  thirteen  j-ears,  not  as 
pastor,  for  much  of  his  time  was  devoted  to 
evangelistic  work  abroad;  but  the  little  church 
during  all  these  years  was  the  object  of  his  fos- 
tering care,  and  enjoyed  his  labors  and  fellow- 
ship whenever  other  duties  permitted. 

Hitherto  Mr.  Scott's  labors  had  been  confined 
to  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania,  but  now  a  wider  field 
claimed  his  service.  In  Kentucky,  where  the 
cause  of  reformation  had  made  rapid  progress, 
he  was  much  in  demand,  and  wherever  he  went 
his  presence  was  a  benediction. 

At  last,  wearied  with  the  hardships  and  priva- 
tions of  an  evangelist's  lot,  he  determined  to 
devote  himself  to  the  quieter  sphere  of  journal- 
ism. Returning  with  his  family  to  Pittsburg, 
the  scene  of  his  early  labors,  he  began  the  publi- 
cation of  a  weekly  paper,  called  the  "Protestant 
Unionist,"  advocating  the  principles  of  the 
reformation,  but  especially  urging  the  union  of 
God's  people.  In  his  intellectual  equipment  he 
was  well  qualified  for  the  position  he  now  occu- 
pied. A  man  of  native  genius  and  liberal  educa- 
tion, none  were  better  fitted  than  he  to  set  forth 
the  claims  of  the  cause  to  which  he  had  given 
his  heart.  But  here,  as  at  every  turn  in  his  path 
through  life,  the  gaunt  figure  of  poverty  arose 
before  him.  Unable  to  meet  his  bills  and  pro- 
vide for  his  family,  he  was  compelled,  after  a 
time,  to  suspend  the  publication  of  the  paper. 


56 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


Recognizing  as  he  did  the  impoi'tance  of  the 
Bible  and  the  value  of  its  companionship  in  the 
home,  he  now  did  service  as  a  colporteur.  In 
this  way  seeking  to  bring  the  truth  of  God  into 
the  homes,  he  went  from  house  to  house  with  a 
basket  of  Bibles,  selling  or  giving  them  away  as 
circumstances  demanded.  He  still  continued  to 
preach  as  he  had  opportunity,  and  the  friend- 
ships and  fellowship  which  he  now  enjoyed 
afforded  him  great  pleasure.  The  few  years 
spent  at  Pittsburg  in  this  golden  autumn  were 
possibly  the  happiest. of  his  life. 

But  here,  in  1849,  a  great  sorrow  cast  its 
shadow  over  his  life  in  the  death  of  the  heroic 
woman  who,  since  1823,  had  shared  his  labors 
and  uncomplainingly  endured  the  privations 
which  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  pioneer  preacher. 
This  loss,  together  with  the  death  of  others  very 
near  to  him,  led  him  again  to  seek  a  new  home, 
going  this  time  to  Kentucky,  first  to  Covington 
and  later  to  Mayslick,  where  his  earthly  pilgrim- 
age was  to  reach  its  end.  He  closed  his  life- 
work  as  he  began  it,  in  the  school-room.  In  no 
place  was  he  more  at  home  and  for  no  work  was 
he  better  qualified.  He  was  a  born  teacher  of 
men.  It  was  in  recognition  of  his  splendid 
ability  as  an  educator  that  he  was  invited  to 
address  the  College  of  Teachers  which  held  its 
annual  meetings  in  Cincinnati,  and  which  em- 


WALTER  vSCOTT 


57 


braced  among  its  members  some  of  the  ablest 
men  of  that  period. 

As  the  shadows  of  his  life  lengthened,  he 
sought  to  put  his  life-thought  into  permanent 
form,  in  the  preparation  and  publication  of  a 
volume  entitled  "The  INIessiahship,  or  the  Great 
Demonstration."  Who  l)etter  tlian  he  could  un- 
fold in  its  matchless  splendor  the  work  of  the 
world's  lledeemer?  All  his  life  long  he  had 
lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  faith  and  adoration. 
Christ  had  been  his  theme,  his  hope,  his  joy. 
The  preparation  of  this  volume,  revealing  deep 
lessons  of  human  experience  and  divine  truth, 
was  the  fitting  close  of  his  literary  labors.  With 
the  weight  of  more  than  I  luce  score  years  resting 
upon  him,  he  now  relinquished  the  work  that 
had  consumed  most  of  his  active  ministry. 

His  last  days  were  spent  amid  the  excitement 
and  anguish  of  the  beginning  of  the  great  rebel- 
lion, to  which  his  own  sensitive  nature  responded 
with  deep  concern.  He  was  a  patriot  whose  love 
for  country  was  only  less  intense  than  his  love 
for  Christ — the  forerunner  of  the  Christian-citi- 
zenship movement  of  to-day.  Though  a  for- 
eigner by  birth,  the  nation  had  few  more  loyal 
sons  than  he. 

"I  remember  distinctly,"  he  once  said,  "the 
moment  I  became  an  American  citizen  at  heart; 
it  was  not  when  I  went  through  the  forms  of  the 
laws  of  naturalization,  but  on  the  occasion  of  my 


58 


MEN  OP  YESTERDAY 


meeting  with  a  procession  headed  by  a  band 
playing  national  airs  and  bearing  a  national  ban- 
ner. Inspired  by  the  strain,  as  I  looked  on  the 
national  emblem,  I  felt  that  under  that  flag  and 
for  it,  if  need  be,  I  could  die,  and  I  felt  at  that 
moment  that  I  was  in  feeling  as  well  as  in  law  an 
American  citizen;  that  that  flag  was  my  flag  and 
that  this  country  was  my  country." 

Animated  by  such  a  spirit,  his  heart  bled  over 
the  threatened  disunion.  At  the  firing  on  Fort 
Sumter,  only  a  few  days  before  he  died,  he 
wrote:  "Oh,  my  country!  my  country!  How  I 
love  thee !  How  I  deplore  thy  present  misfor- 
tunes!" These  were  the  last  words  he  ever 
penned.  A  few  days  later  he  fell  asleep,  rejoic- 
ing in  the  promises  of  a  glorified  Redeemer. 
And  so  passed  from  earth  on  the  twenty-third  of 
April,  1861,  one  of  its  choicest  spirits,  whose 
life  and  memory  have  been  a  benediction  to 
thousands. 

Walter  Scott  was  an  important,  may  I  not  say 
providential,  factor  in  the  work  of  religious 
reformation  to  which  his  life  was  devoted.  It 
was  no  small  circumstance  that  brought  this  tal- 
ented young  man  to  America  at  the  opportune 
time,  as  men  were  searching  for  the  old  paths, 
that  threw  him  at  once  into  companionship  with 
such  a  choice  spirit  as  George  Forrester,  that  led 
early  to  his  association  with  the  Campbells,  and 


WALTER  SCOTT 


59 


that  resulted  in  his  selection  us  evangelist  to  go 
among  the  scattered  Baptist  churches  of  Ohio. 
Each  step  was  important  in  the  preparation  of 
the  man  for  the  splendid  service  he  was  to  ren- 
der. With  a  trained  mind  capable  of  a  broad 
grasp  of  the  truth,  with  a  sympathetic  heart  that 
never  failed  to  awaken  enthusiastic  response, 
with  a  loyal  spirit  that  followed  unhesitatingly 
in  the  steps  of  the  Master,  he  was  pre-eminently 
the  man  for  the  work  to  which  God  called  him. 
None  knew  him  better  than  his  eminent  co-la- 
borer, Alexander  Campbell,  and  none  were  capa- 
ble of  placing  a  fairer  estimate  upon  his  service. 

"Next  to  my  father,''  writes  the  Sage  of  Beth- 
any, "he  was  my  most  cordial  and  indefatigable 
fellow-laborer  in  the  origin  and  progress  of  the 
present  reformation.  We  often  took  counsel  to- 
gether in  our  efforts  to  plead  and  advocate  the 
paramount  claims  of  original  and  apostolic 
Christianity.  His  whole  heart  was  in  the  work. 
He  was,  indeed,  truly  eloquent,  in  the  whole  im- 
port of  that  word,  in  pleading  the  claims  of  the 
Author  and  Founder  of  the  Christian  faith  and 
hope,  and  in  disabusing  the  inquiring  mind  of 
all  its  prejudices,  misapprehensions  and  errors. 
He  was,  too,  most  successful  in  winning  souls  to 
the  allegiance  of  the  Divine  Author  and  Founder 
of  the  Christian  institution,  and  in  jjutting  to 
silence  the  cavilings  and  objections  of  the  mod- 


80 


MEN  OF  YE.STERDAY 


era  Pharisees  and  Saddiicees  of  sectariandom." ^ 
As  a  preaelier,  iu  his  best  moments  he  had  few 
equals,  but  he  was  not  always  great.  His  efforts 
were  characterized  by  peculiar  uuevenness,  often 
disappointing  to  his  friends  and  crushing  to  his 
own  sensitive  nature.  This  was  doubtless  in 
l)art  due  to  extravagant  expectations  which  it 
was  impossible  for  any  man  to  meet,  and  partly 
from  ill  health  and  attendant  depression  of 
spirits.  Painfully  conscious  of  his  failure  at 
such  times,  he  was  wont  to  remark:  "The  smile 
of  the  Lord  was  not  on  me  to-day."  But  when 
he  enjoyed  the  "smile  of  the  Lord,"  few  men 
equaled  him  in  the  power  to  thrill  an  audience. 
Men  were  known,  as  they  listened  to  his  flights, 
to  unconsciously  rise  in  their  places  and  bend 
forward,  lest  they  should  miss  a  word.  Once  in 
a  discourse  of  unusual  power,  in  which  he  un- 
folded the  glories  of  redemption,  Alexander 
Campbell,  though  naturally'  not  demonstrative, 
was  so  filled  with  rapture  and  admiratu)n  that, 
as  the  preacher  reached  his  climax,  he  shouted 
"Glory  to  God  in  the  highest."  In  his  great 
moments  Walter  Scott  was  sublime.  But 
whether  sublime  or  commonplace  in  his  utter- 
ance, he  was  always  loyal  to  the  truth. 

I  cannot  better  close  this  sketch  of  a  noble 
life,  than  with  this  comparison  between  him  and 


1  Millennial  Harbinger,  1861,  p.  296. 


WALTER  SCOTT 


61 


his  distinguished  co-laborer,  Alexander  Camp- 
bell, from  the  pen  of  William  Baxter: 

"In  no  sense  were  they  rivals,  any  more  than 
Moses  and  Aaron,  or  Paul  and  Silas;  but  like 
them,  with  different  gifts,  devoting  their  lives  to 
the  accomplishment  of  the  same  glorious  end. 
Cann^bell  was  always  great  and  self-possessed; 
Scott  subject  to  great  depression,  and,  conse- 
quently, unequal  in  his  public  efforts,  but  at 
times  he  knew  a  rapture  which  seemed  almost 
inspiration,  to  which  the  former  was  a  stranger. 
Campbell  never  fell  below  the  expectations  of 
his  hearers ;  Scott  frequently  did,  but  there  were 
times  when  he  rose  to  a  height  of  eloquence 
which  the  former  never  equaled.  If  Campbell 
at  times  reminded  his  hearers  of  Paul  on  liars' 
Hill,  commanding  the  attention  of  the  assembled 
wisdom  of  Athens,  Scott,  in  his  happiest  mo- 
ments, seemed  more  like  Peter  on  the  memora- 
ble Pentecost,  with  the  cloven  tongue  of  flame 
on  his  head  and  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit  of 
truth  in  his  heart,  while  from  heart-pierced  sin- 
ners on  every  side  rose  the  agonizing  cry,  'Men 
and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do?'  " 


II. 

BARTON  W.  STONE. 


I  BELIEVE  the  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Savior  of  the 
world,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  liini  niiiiiituot  jK'rish,  but 
have  everlasting  life.  I  believe  that  all  power  and  authority 
in  heaven  and  earth  are  given  imto  him  and  tliat  he  is  able  to 
save  unto  the  uttermost  all  that  come  to  God  by  him  ;  that 
in  him  are  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge;  that 
it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  should  all  fulness  dwell,  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead,  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit,  the  fulness 
of  grace  and  salvation.  When  we  see  him  we  see  the  Father, 
his  image,  his  character,  his  glory,  and  his  perfection.  Let 
me  lose  my  life,  before  I  would  detract  from  my  Lord  one  ray 
of  glory. — Barton  W.  Stone. 
64 


BARTON  W.  STONE. 


7.    EAULY  STFtrdGLKS. 


'HE  opening  years  of  this  century  were  the 


seed  time  of  great  moral  and  religious 
forces,  which  have,  under  God,  made  it  the 
mightiest  of  all  these  Christian  centuries.  The 
spirit  of  the  times  was  conducive  to  the  march  of 
reform  and  the  development  of  new  ideals  in 
society  and  church. 

The  triumph  and  extension  of  civil  liberty 
had  made  men  restive  under  all  forms  of  eccle- 
siastical bondage.  To  read  and  think  for  them- 
selves, to  follow  Christ  in  the  light  of  his  own 
Word,  were  privileges  which  men  were  every- 
where beginning  to  crave.  It  was  this  desire 
that  led  Thomas  and  Alexander  Campbell  to  in- 
augurate a  movement  for  the  restoration  of 
primitive  Christianity.  But  no  single  religious 
body  to-day  can  claim  the  honor  of  recognizing 
this  need  or  of  seeking  a  pathway  to  larger  lib- 
erty. Lofty  spirits  from  the  bosom  of  various 
communions  and  in  widely  separated  regions, 
towering  above  their  fellows,  first  saw  the  morn- 
ing light  of  God's  new  day,  and  became  the 
prophets  of  a  new  order  of  things. 


5 


(65) 


66 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


There  was  James  O  Kelly  of  Virginia,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Church,  who,  even  as  early 
as  1792,  protested  against  the  authority  of 
bishops,  and  was  ultimately  led,  in  his  desire  for 
greater  liberty,  to  discard  the  name  and  the 
creed  of  his  church,  adopting,  instead,  the  name 
Christian,  and  taking  the  New  Testament  as  his 
only  authority  in  religious  faith  and  life. 

There  was  Abner  Jones  of  Vermont,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  Church,  who  in  1800  gath- 
ered a  small  church  about  him,  abandoning 
human  names  and  creeds  for  the  name  Christian 
and  the  Word  of  God  alone. 

In  the  same  manner.  Barton  W.  Stone  of 
Kentucky,  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  1804,  declared  himself  independent 
of  all  authoi-ity  in  matters  of  religion,  save  the 
authority  only  of  the  Word  of  God. 

Each  in  his  desire  for  larger  liberty  in 
Christ  and  broader  fellowship  in  his  service, 
had  acted  independently  of  the  others.  It  was 
an  almost  simultaneous  outburst  of  latent  feel- 
ing, showing  wide-spread  dissatisfaction  with 
denominational  beliefs  and  barriers. 

Since  the  work  of  Mr.  Stone  culminated  in  his 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  Campbell  and  the  adop- 
tion of  the  principles  which  the  latter  advocated, 
his  name  deserves  a  place  among  the  distin- 
guished pioneers  of  the  great  religious  reforma- 
tion of  the  nineteenth  centui-y. 


BARTON  W.  STONE 


67 


The  life  of  Barton  Warren  Stone  reads  like 
I'onuince.  Born  in  1772,  his  cradle  was  rocked 
by  the  storm  which  burst  in  revolution,  and  his 
3-oung  life  toughened  in  every  fiber  by  the  adver- 
sities and  hardships  of  the  frontier.  Though  a 
village  in  Maryland  witnessed  his  advent,  his 
father  dying  soon  after,  his  mother  took  her 
flock,  which  was  a  large  one,  to  what  was  then 
called  the  back-woods  of  Virginia.  There, 
amidst  the  wild  woods  and  rugged  hills  of  a 
sparsely  settled  district,  removed  from  the 
touch  and  knowledge  of  the  great  world,  his 
early  years  were  spent. 

Now  and  again  the  quiet  of  this  community 
was  disturbed  by  the  raids  of  contending  armies; 
family  circles  were  broken  by  the  departure  of 
fathers  and  sons  to  the  field  of  battle ;  and  often 
the  roar  of  artillery  was  heai'd,  filling  every 
breast  with  anxiety  and  fear.  In  such  times  and 
places  little  attention  could  be  paid  to  the  refin- 
ing influences  which  elevate  and  purify  our 
human  lot;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  even 
religion  had  little  place  in  the  thoughts  of  the 
people.  Vices  took  the  place  of  homely  virtues, 
and  evil  habits,  learned  in  the  army,  were 
brought  home  by  returning  soldiers  at  the  close 
of  the  war  to  become  the  fashion  of  all.  It  was 
in  such  a  community  that  God  was  molding  the 
life  of  a  youth  who  should  one  day  become  his 


68  MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 

most  efficient  servant  in  startling  into  repentance 
transgressors  of  every  form. 

If  it  presented  hindrances  to  high  moral  and 
spiritual  development,  it  at  least  served  to  fan 
the  spirit  of  liberty  and  manly  independence, 
which  afterward  were  characteristic  traits  of  the 
reformer.  Hei'e,  too,  in  the  midst  of  uniform 
ignorance,  was  somehow  quickened  a  thirst  for 
knowledge  which  the  environments  of  young 
Stone  gave  little  promise  of  satisfying.  It  was, 
however,  his  good  fortune  to  be  sent  early  to 
school,  or  perhaps  it  might  better  be  called  bad 
fortune,  for  he  was  placed  under  a  very  tyrant 
of  a  teacher,  who  abused  and  flogged  his  young 
pupil  until,  through  fear,  he  was  neither  able  to 
study  nor  recite.  Later  he  was  put  to  another 
school  where  a  different  spirit  reigned.  In  its 
genial  atmosphere  he  made  such  progress  in 
reading,  writing  and  arithmetic,  that  in  a  short 
time  his  teacher  pronounced  him  a  finished 
scholar,  declaring  his  ability  to  teach  him  noth- 
ing more;  and  from  this  time  he  was  considered 
a  prodigy  of  learning  in  the  community. 

Rude  and  limited  as  were  these  educational 
privileges,  they  had  kindled  a  fire  in  the  breast 
of  young  Stone  which  could  not  be  quenched. 
Having  learned  to  read,  his  delight,  henceforth, 
was  in  books,  and  the  neighborhood  was  scoured 
far  and  wide  for  its  scant  treasures  of  literature. 
But  he  records  his  disappointment  at  being  able 


BARTON  W.  STONE 


69 


to  find  nothing  but  a  few  novels,  which,  though 
trashy,  his  famished  soul  devoured  with  avidity. 
But  these  were  poor  help  to  a  mind  fired  with  a 
love  of  letters,  and  he  determined  to  explore 
other  and  wider  fields  for  the  knowledge  he 
craved. 

Inheriting  a  small  sum  from  his  father's 
estate,  at  fifteen  Barton  Stone  stipulated  that  it 
should  be  used  in  securing,  if  possible,  a  liberal 
education.  His  ambition,  at  that  time,  was  to 
fit  himself  for  the  practice  of  the  law.  In  the 
execution  of  this  purpose  he  entered  an  acad- 
emy in  Guilford,  North  Carolina,  where  he 
began  the  study  of  Latin.  He  resolved  now,  as 
he  declared,  to  "secure  an  education  or  die  in  the 
attempt."  That  his  slender  means  might  carry 
him  as  far  as  possible  toward  the  goal  of  his 
ambition,  he  lived  on  the  plainest  food,  and 
applied  himself  with  indefatigable  energy  in  the 
prosecution  of  his  studies.  Time  for  sleep  was 
reduced  to  the  minimum  of  six  hours,  and  every 
moment  was  sacredly  appropriated  to  intellec- 
tual pursuits.  In  this  way  he  outstripped  his 
fellows,  passing  from  class  to  class,  until  he  had 
completed  his  academic  course. 

While  quietly  pursuing  his  studies,  an  element 
came  into  the  life  of  young  Stone  that  changed 
the  whole  current  of  his  being,  robbing  the  law 
of  one  who  would  have  been  an  ornament,  and 
enriching  the  ministry  with  his  rare  talents. 


70 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


His  early  life  had  been  almost  without  relig- 
ious influence.  The  subject  was  rarely  men- 
tioned in  his  home.  His  only  knowledge  of  the 
Bible  had  come  from  its  perusal  as  a  text-book 
in  the  school-room,  and  it  did  not  make  any  im- 
pression on  his  mind  at  that  time.  An  occa- 
sional Baptist  or  Methodist  minister  had  visited 
the  neighborhood  in  which  he  was  reared. 
These  had  at  first  enlisted  his  attention,  but  the 
bitterness  of  their  attacks  on  each  other's  creeds 
at  last  filled  his  mind  with  confusion  and  dis- 
gust, and  he  turned  away  from  both  to  a  life  of 
thoughtless  indifference. 

Soon  after  entering  the  academy,  the  whole 
subject  was  brought  before  him  in  a  new  light. 
Great  religious  excitement  prevailed.  Thirty  of 
his  fellow-students  had  become  the  subjects  of 
religious  convictions.  But  it  had  not  yet  come 
to  the  thought  of  Barton  Stone  that  he  had  a 
lasting  interest  in  the  blessings  of  redemption. 
He  says:  "I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  find 
those  pious  students  assembled  every  morning 
before  the  hours  of  recitation,  and  engaged  in 
singing  and  praying  in  a  private  room.  Their 
daily  walk  evinced  to  me  their  sincere  piety  and 
happiness.  This  was  a  source  of  uneasiness  to 
my  mind,  and  frequently  brought  me  to  serious 
reflection.  I  labored  to  banish  these  serious 
thoughts,  believing  that  religion  would  impede 
my  progress   in  learning — would  thwart  the 


BARTON  W. STONE 


71 


object  i  had  in  view,  and  expose  me  to  the 
frowns  of  my  relatives  and  companions.  I  there- 
fore associated  with  that  part  of  the  students 
who  made  light  of  divine  things,  and  joined 
with  them  in  their  jests  at  the  pious."  ^ 

Unable  to  stifle  the  voice  of  conviction  in  this 
wa}',  he  resolved,  like  Jonah,  to  flee  from  the 
presence  of  God.  Packing  his  effects  together, 
he  declared  his  determination  to  seek  another 
institution  of  learning,  where  the  religion  of 
Christ  would  not  be  thrust  upon  iiis  attention. 
A  storm,  however,  prevented  his  leaving  on  tlie 
(hiy  arranged,  and  after  calmly  reflecting  over 
the  situation  he  decided  to  remain  where  he 
was,  attend  to  his  own  business  ami  give  the 
subject  no  more  thought.  Settling  back  again 
into  the  old  routine  of  his  life,  he  was  not  long 
in  discovering  that  such  resolutions  were  easier 
made  than  kept. 

IT.     (■(iXVKIi>;f(lX  AX!)  CALL. 

The  young  student  did  not  find  the  work  of 
stifling  his  convictions  as  easy  as  he  anticipated. 
For  a  time,  it  is  true,  he  settled  down  to 
his  books,  undisturbed  by  that  voice  from  with- 
in; but  in  an  unguarded  moment  he  accepted  an 
invitation  from  his  room-mate,  a  pious  young 
man,  to  accompany  him  a  short  distance  in  the 
country  one   afternoon   to   attend  a  religious 

1  Autobiography,  p.  7. 


72 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


meeting.  The  preacher  was  a  man  of  great 
earnestness,  and  before  he  had  finished,  the 
message  had  pierced  Barton  Stone's  soul,  and  he 
rushed  home  to  his  room  and  out  into  the  soli- 
tude of  night  to  wrestle  afresh  with  the  ques- 
tion of  religion,  feeling  himself  the  creature  of 
despair,  doomed  to  destruction. 

In  the  fierce  struggle  which  followed,  he  tried 
to  impartially  weigh  the  subject.  To  accept  the 
religion  of  Christ  meant  the  displeasure  of  his 
relatives,  the  ridicule  of  his  companions,  the 
relinquishment  of  worldly  honors,  and  a  final 
adieu  to  all  the  pleasures  he  had  coveted  for 
himself.  But  on  the  other  hand  his  heart 
shrank  from  the  awful  alternative,  the  loss  of 
heaven  and  eternal  happiness.  As  the  conflict 
went  on,  his  better  nature  at  length  asserted 
itself,  and  he  resolved  "from  that  hour  to  seek 
religion  at  the  sacrifice  of  every  earthly  good." 

The  pathway  which  the  young  seeker  now  trod 
in  his  search  for  acceptance  with  God  was  not 
an  easy  one.  He  should  have  doubted  the  genu- 
ineness of  his  conversion  had  it  been  other  than 
a  painful  process.  According  to  the  fashion  of 
the  times — and  who  dared  ignore  fashion  even 
in  the  cut  of  his  confession  where  creed  was  the 
pattern? — due  sojourn  must  be  made  at  Doubting 
Castle,  where  the  soul,  tossed  with  uncertainty, 
racked  with  despair,  enveloped  in  darkness,  was 
condemned  to  await  the  good  pleasure  of  an 


BARTON  W. STONE 


73 


■offended  Father,  who,  in  his  own  time,  would 
visit  the  suffering  penitent  with  the  joy  of  his 
salvation. 

Anticipating  some  such  long  and  painful 
struggle,  the  mental  anguish  through  which  Bar- 
ton Stone  now  passed  was  indescribable.  For  a 
whole  year  he  was  tossed  on  the  waves  of  uncer- 
tainty, ••laboring,"  he  tells  us,  "praying  and 
striving  to  obtain  saving  faith,  sometimes  de- 
sponding and  almost  despairing  of  ever  getting 
it."'  Before  him  rose  that  mighty  stumbling- 
block  of  total  depravity;  around  him  seemed  to 
surge  the  fires  of  hell  from  which  he  possessed 
no  power  to  flee.  He  studied  his  Bible;  he 
spent  hours  upon  his  knees  in  prayer;  he  went 
from  pulpit  to  pulpit,  seeking  for  light  that  he 
did  not  find;  and  under  the  strain  of  his  anxi- 
ety his  strength  failed  and  rest  deserted  him. 

It  was  at  last  his  good  fortune  to  hear  a  young 
Presbyterian  minister  preach  from  the  text, 
"God  is  love."  The  message  came  as  a  revela- 
tion to  his  soul.  It  touched  his  sensitive  heart. 
It  kindled  a  new  hope  within  his  breast.  With 
the  message  still  fresh  in  his  mind  he  retired  to 
the  woods  with  his  Bible.  He  searched  the 
Scriptures,  to  find  a  new  message  recorded  on 
every  page.  Wherever  he  turned,  the  assurance 
it  brought  him  was  "God  is  love."  After  many 
anxious  weeks  he  had  come  at  last  to  know  the 
true  meaning  of  the  Gospel.     God  loved  him 


74 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


and  would  accept  him  now,  indeed  had  always 
been  ready  to  receive  him.  "From  that  time 
on,"  he  declares,  "till  I  finished  my  course  of 
learning,  I  lived  devoted  to  God."  The  error 
and  the  anguish  of  Barton  Stone,  like  that  of 
thousands  since,  was  in  trying  to  fashion  his 
experience  after  the  devices  of  men  rather  than 
upon  the  simple  terms  of  the  revealed  will  of 
God. 

With  a  soul  at  peace  with  his  Maker  he  now 
took  up  his  studies  again  with  renewed  zeal. 
Branches  that  were  formerly  irksome,  he  now 
pursued  with  pleasure,  from  the  consideration 
that  he  was  engaged  in  them  for  the  glory  of 
God,  to  whom  he  resolved  to  unreservedly  de- 
vote his  all.  In  the  fires  of  his  devotion  he 
forged  anew  his  plans  for  life.  The  legal  pro- 
fession, to  which  he  once  aspired,  was  aban- 
doned. His  great  desire  henceforth  was  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  but  as  yet  he  had  received  no 
assurance  of  being  called  and  sent.  He  com- 
municated his  desire  and  his  misgivings  to  his 
trusted  teacher.  Dr.  David  Caldwell,  who  encour- 
aged him  to  offer  himself  to  the  Orange  Presby- 
tery of  North  Carolina  as  a  candidate  for  the 
ministry.  Accordingly,  in  1795,  he  began  his 
studies  under  the  direction  of  the  Presbytery. 
He  must  know  something  of  theology,  the  being 
and  attributes  of  God,  the  doctrine  of  the  Trin- 
ity and  kindred  speculations,  and  the  standard 


BARTON  W.  STONE 


75 


works  of  the  day,  upon  these  great  doctrines, 
were  put  in  his  hands.  The  only  book  on  the- 
ology which  he  had  previously  studied  was  the 
Bible.  It  had  been  his  daily  comfort  and  guide. 
But  as  he  began  to  explore  the  mystery  of  the 
attributes  and  relationships  of  the  Deity,  as 
taught  by  Witsius  and  others,  his  mind  became 
confused.  Doubt  again  cast  its  shadow  over  his 
pathway,  and  the  religious  exercises  in  which  he 
had  taken  such  delight  and  found  such  comfort, 
were  discontinued,  and  for  a  time  he  thought 
seriously  of  relinquishing  the  ministry  and 
engaging  in  some  other  business. 

A  treatise  of  Dr.  Watts,  falling  into  his  hands 
at  this  time,  was  read  with  pleasure  by  the 
young  student  of  theology,  who  again  saw  his 
way  through  the  mazes  of  speculation.  The  old 
desire  so  far  revived  that  he  came  before  the 
next  Presbytery  for  examination,  and  was  al)le 
to  make  a  satisfactory  statement  of  the  grounds 
of  his  faith. 

Again  his  study  of  "systematic  divinity  from 
the  Calvinistic  mould"  became  so  confusing  to 
his  mind  that  he  determined  to  give  up  the  idea 
of  preaching.  Gathering  his  all  together  he 
started  for  the  State  of  Georgia,  to  visit  a 
brother,  and  work  out  for  himself  a  career  along 
some  new  line.  Here,  through  the  brother's  in- 
fluence, he  secured  a  position  as  instructor  of 
languages  in  an  academy  at  Washington.  The 


76 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


atmosphere  of  the  school,  which  was  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Methodists,  was  religious,  and 
here,  agaio,  a  strong  desire  arose  in  the  heart  of 
young  Stone  to  preach  the  Gospel.  Determined 
to  resume  his  theological  studies  at  the  end  of 
the  school  year,  he  resigned  his  professorship, 
and  started  back  to  receive  his  license  from  the 
Orange  Presbytery  of  North  Carolina. 

Having  received  his  license  and  an  appoint- 
ment, in  company  with  another  young  minister, 
Eobert  Foster,  to  do  evangelistic  work  in  the 
southern  part  of  his  State,  the  two  set  out  on 
horseback  for  their  new  field  of  labor.  Before 
they  reached  their  first  appointment,  however, 
Mr.  Stone's  companion  determined  not  to 
preach,  declaring  himself  unqualified  for  so  sol- 
emn a  work.  The  resolution  of  his  companion 
caused  him  to  question  his  own  fitness,  and  again 
he  (letormined  to  aI)andon  the  luinisiry.  Mount- 
ing his  horse,  he  started  for  Florida,  hoping  to 
escape  from  the  unpleasant  responsibility  which 
his  license  had  placed  upon  him,  by  seeking  a 
home  among  strangers.  Again  Providence  in- 
terrupted the  execution  of  his  design.  At  his 
first  stopping-place  he  met  a  pious  old  lady,  who 
knew  him,  suspected  his  intention,  accused  him 
of  acting  the  part  of  Jonah,  and  in  her  friendly, 
motherly  way  urged  him  to  continue  in  the  good 
calling,  and  pointed  him  to  the  West  for  a  field 
suited  to  the  exercise  of  his  gifts.    Heeding  the 


BARTON  W.  STONE 


77 


advice  of  the  good  woman,  who  ])roved  to  l)e  the 
man  of  ^Nfacedonia  in  another  guise,  he  pursued 
his  lonely  journey  across  the  mountains  into 
Tennessee,  where  he  soon  found  scattered  set- 
tlements, famishing  for  the  bread  of  life,  and 
there  began  a  career  which  was  destined  under 
the  providence  of  God  to  ])ecome  a  mighty 
agency  in  the  restoration  of  the  primitive  faith. 

It  was  thus  through  many  fiery  trials  and  dis- 
couragements that  Barton  W.  Stone  found  his 
way  to  God,  and  into  a  field  of  labor  where  God 
could  use  him. 

in.    THE  GREAT  REVIVAL  AT  CAXERIDGE. 

After  a  few  months'  labor  among  the  scattered 
settlers  of  Tennessee,  Mr.  Stone  determined  to 
visit  Kentucky.  The  journey,  though  not  a  long 
one,  was  in  those  early  days  attended  with  many 
hardships  and  perils.  Bands  of  Indians  still 
menaced  the  daring  frontiersmen,  and  constantly 
imperiled  the  traveler  as  he  rode  through  the 
unbroken  forest  from  settlement  to  settlement. 
Many  were  the  dangers  which  the  young  preacher 
encountered,  and  many  were  the  deliverances 
\\hich  he  devoutly  ascribed  to  Providence. 

Preaching  from  place  to  place  as  he  found  op- 
portunity, he  arrived  in  the  early  part  of  the 
winter  of  1796  at  Caneridge,  Ky.  Here  his  min- 
istry was  so  well  received  that  he  was  invited  to 
become  the  settled  i)astor  of  the  Presbyterian 


78 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


Church,  another  church  in  a  neighboring  settle- 
ment sharing  his  labors  and  uniting  in  his  sup- 
port. Endearing  himself  to  the  people  by  his 
many  admirable  traits,  and  adding  largely  to  the 
numbers  and  strength  of  the  churches  to  which 
he  ministered,  it  was  decided  after  a  year's  trial 
that  he  should  be  formally  ordained  and  in- 
stalled. 

Tliis  was  the  beginning  of  new,  or  rather  the 
revival  of  old,  troubles.  His  mind  had  never 
been  able  to  reconcile  itself  to  some  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Westminster  Confession.  Knowing 
that  he  would  be  expected  to  subscribe  to  this 
historic  standard,  he  determined  to  re-examine 
the  whole  ground  of  theology  as  taught  by  the 
ci'eed  of  his  church.  As  the  result  of  his  re- 
search, he  says,  "I  stumbled  at  the  doctrine  of 
Trinity  as  taught  in  the  Confession.  I  labored 
to  believe  it,  but  could  not  conscientiously  sub- 
scribe to  it.  Doubts,  too,  arose  in  my  mind  on 
the  doctrines  of  election,  reprol)atioii  and  pre- 
destination as  then  taught." 

In  this  state  of  mind  he  appeared  before  the 
Presbytery,  but  so  serious  were  his  difficulties 
that  he  asked  to  have  the  ordination  deferred, 
candidly  declaring  his  dissent  from  some  of  the 
doctrines  taught  l)y  the  Confession,  but  at  the 
same  time  indicating  his  willingness  to  receive 
the  Confession  so  far  as  he  saw  it  consistent  with 


•  BARTON  W.  .STONE 


79 


the  Word  of  God.  Upon  this  qualilied  assent 
he  was  ordained. 

The  reception  of  his  ordination  papers  neither 
ended  his  own  intellectual  misgivings,  nor  his 
difficulties  with  his  strictly  orthodox  ministerial 
associates  in  the  Presb3'tery,  as  we  shall  here- 
after discover. 

His  mind,  from  this  time  until  he  finally  broke 
the  fetters  of  religious  bondage,  was  "contin- 
ually tossed  on  the  waves  of  speculative  divin- 
ity." "I,  at  that  time,"  he  says,  "believed  and 
taught  that  mankind  wei*e  so  totally  depraved 
that  they  could  do  nothing  acceptable  to  God, 
till  his  Spirit,  by  some  pbj-sical,  almighty  and 
my.sterious  power  had  quickened,  enlightened 
and  regenerated  the  heart,  and  thus  prepared 
the  sinner  to  believe  in  Jesus  for  salvation." 
But  he  soon  discovered  that  this  cheerless  doc- 
trine was  inseparably  linked  with  unconditional 
election  and  reprobation,  from  which  his  mind 
had  revolted.  The  inconsistency  of  his  position 
in  calling  upon  listening  multitudes  to  repent 
and  believe  the  Gospel,  at  the  same  time  declar- 
ing their  helplessness  to  do  anything,  because  of 
the  total  depravity  of  their  state,  well-nigh 
silenced  his  voice. 

It  was  long  afterward  that  the  subject  of 
human  depravity  resolved  itself  in  his  mind  in 
harmony  with  man's  ability  to  accept  and  obey 
the  truth,  after  this  fashion:    "That  mankind 


80 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


are  depraved  is  a  lamentable  truth,  absolutely 
attested  by  the  Word  of  God  and  conliruied  l)y 
universal  experience  and  observation.  To  quote 
the  many  passages  of  Scripture  which  prove  this 
point  would  be  to  transcribe  a  great  part  of  the 
Bible.  .  .  .  Yet,  though  man  be  thus  alien- 
ated from  God,  and  prone  to  evil,  he  possesses 
rational  faculties,  capable  of  knowing  and  enjoy- 
ing God.  If  not,  ho  has  ceased  to  be  a  moral 
agent,  and  consequently  is  no  longer  a  fit  subject 
of  moral  government.  He  is  a  machine,  incapa- 
ble of  rational  happiness.  But  this  we  believe 
none  will  assert." 

In  his  perplexity,  as  he  began  his  ministry  at 
Caneridge,  he  again  made  the  Bible  his  constant 
companion,  and  devoted  his  time  to  a  prayerful 
examination  of  its  pages.  But  it  was  only  after 
days  of  struggle,  in  which  the  mind  of  the  unfor- 
tunate preacher  lingered  on  the  border  land  of 
skepticism  and  despair,  that  belief  and  reason 
and  hope  were  restored,  and  the  sensitive  spirit 
of  Barton  Stone  again  found  peace  and  comfoi't 
in  the  greatness  of  God's  love.  He  at  last  came 
to  the  conviction,  the  doctrine  of  his  creed  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding,  that  God  did  love 
the  whole  world,  and  that  the  only  barrier  to  the 
salvation  of  every  creature  was  their  unbelief. 
From  that  moment  of  new  light  and  joy,  he  began 
to  part  company  with  Calvinism,  declaring  it  to 
be  the  heaviest  clog  on  Christianity  in  the  world, 


BARTON  W.  STONE 


81 


a  dark  mountain  between  heaven  and  earth, 
shutting  out  the  love  of  God  from  the  sinner's 
heart. 

In  the  joy  of  his  new-found  liberty,  Mr.  Stone 
received  a  baptism  of  power  that  made  him  one 
of  God's  choicest  instruments  in  awakening 
religious  society  out  of  its  apathy, and  in  prepar- 
ing the  way  for  the  great  revival  with  which  this 
century  was  ushered  in.  Born  with  his  new  con- 
viction of  God's  all  abounding  love,  was  an  in- 
tense yearning  to  bring  his  fellowmeu  to  the  joy 
of  such  a  salvation.  While  the  fire  was  kindling 
in  his  soul,  he  heai'd  of  a  great  work  of  grace 
already  begun  in  Southern  Kentucky  under  the 
labors  of  James  McGready.  It  was  a  sudden 
outburst  after  a  season  of  religious  apathy.  This 
was  in  the  spring  of  1801.  He  was  anxious  to 
see  for  himself  and  learn  the  secret  of  this  new 
revival  movement.  Hastening  to  join  the  throngs 
that  were  now  being  drawn  together  in  a  great 
encampment  about  this  new  John  the  Baptist  in 
the  wilderness,  he  witnessed  a  spectacle  that 
baffled  description. 

"Many,  very  many,"  he  writes  in  his  account 
of  this  remarkable  revival,  "fell  down,  as  men 
slain  in  battle,  and  continued  for  hours  together 
in  an  apparently  breathless  and  motionless  state ; 
sometimes  for  a  few  moments  reviving  and  ex- 
hibiting symptoms  of  life  by  a  deep  groan  or 
piercing  shriek,  or  by  a  prayer  for  mercy  most 


82 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


fervently  uttered.  After  lying  thus  for  hours, 
they  obtained  deliverance.  The  gloomy  cloud 
which  had  covered  their  faces,  seemed  gradually 
and  visibly  to  disappear,  and  hope  in  smiles 
brightened  into  joy;  they  would  rise  shouting 
delivei-ance,  and  then  would  address  the  sur- 
rounding multitude  iu  language  truly  eloquent."^ 
Returning  from  these  strange  scenes,  Mr. 
Stone  entered  his  pulpit  at  Caneridge  with  heart 
aglow  with  spiritual  fervor.  No  longer  shackled 
by  the  doctrines  of  election  and  reprobation,  he 
took  for  his  text  the  inspiring  message  of  the 
great  commission,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.  He 
that  belie veth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved, 
and  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned." 
Old  as  was  the  text,  it  came  like  a  new  evangel 
to  this  people,  who  had  known  nothing  but  the 
hard  terms  of  a  Calvinistic  creed.  The  audience 
was  visibly  affected,  and  he  left  them,  promising 
to  return  in  a  few  days.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  one  of  the  greatest  revivals  in  history.  On 
his  return  a  vast  multitude  awaited  him,  and  he 
had  scarcely  begun  to  picture  before  them  the 
great  salvation  when  scores  fell  to  the  ground  as 
if  smitten  by  some  unseen  hand.  We  shall  allow 
Mr.  Stone  to  describe  the  scene  iu  his  own  lan- 
guage: "Some  attempted  to  fly  from  the  scene 
panic-stricken,  but  they  either  fell  or  returned 

1  Autobiography,  p.  34. 


BARTON  W. STOXE 


83 


immediate!}-  to  the  crowd,  as  unable  to  get  away. 
Ill  the  midst  of  this  exercise  an  intelligent  deist 
in  the  neighborhood  stepped  up  to  me  and  said, 
'Mr.  Stone,  I  always  thought  before  that  you 
were  an  honest  man,  but  now  I  am  convinced 
that  you  are  deceiving  the  people.'  I  viewed 
him  with  pity  and  mildly  spoke  a  few  words  to 
him ;  immediately  he  fell  as  a  dead  man,  and 
rose  no  more  until  he  had  confessed  the 
Savior." 

The  report  of  this  remarkable  meeting  soon 
spread  through  the  surrounding  country,  and  a 
vast  multitude,  estimated  at  from  twenty  to 
thirty  thousand,  crowded  the  roads  with  wagons, 
carriages,  horsemen  and  footmen,  all  moving 
toward  this  solemn  camp.  Ail  denominations 
joined  in  the  conduct  of  the  meeting.  Party 
spirit  for  the  time  had  disappeared,  and  all 
united  in  the  great  work  of  grace.  It  was  a 
veritable  Pentecost.  Multitudes  abandoned  sin 
and  entered  the  profession  and  practice  of  re- 
ligion. The  meeting  continued  for  si.x  or  seven 
days  and  nights,  and  would  have  continued 
longer,  but  food  for  the  multitudes  could  not  be 
found. 

There  is  an  element  of  the  mysterious  in  this 
great  revival,  of  which  B.  W.  Stone  was  the  cen- 
tral figure,  which  may  test  our  credulity.  That 
these  strange  happenings  occurred,  we  cannot 
doubt.    '*I  have  been  an  eye  witness  of  them," 


.84 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


wrote  Mr.  Stone,  near  the  close  of  his  life, 
"from  the  beginning,  and  am  now  over  three 
score  and  ten  years  of  age,  on  the  brink  of  eter- 
nity." How  much  was  due  to  the  fanaticism  of 
man  and  how  much  to  the  hand  of  God,  we 
shall  never  know. 

That  it  was  more  than  a  momentary  outburst 
of  wrought-up  feeling  seems  evident  from  some 
of  its  practical  fruits.  The  revival  had  taken  a 
deep  hold  on  the  community  and  was  accom- 
panied by  a  moral  transformation  of  society. 
Awakened  himself  to  new  conceptions  of  right- 
eousness, Mr.  Stone  emancipated  his  slaves, 
"choosing  poverty  with  a  good  conscience,"  and 
many  others  followed  his  example.  The  eyes 
of  many  were  opened  to  just  and  proper  views 
of  the  Gospel,  and  the  growing  religious  inter- 
est gave  promise  of  widespread  triumph  for 
Christianity,  when  it  met  with  an  untimely 
check  in  the  return  of  the  old  spirit  of  denom- 
inational jealousy. 

Presbyterians,  Methodists  and  Baptists,  in 
their  desire  to  see  the  lost  saved,  had  for  a  time 
forgotten  their  differences.  But,  as  the  work 
grew  in  power  and  influence,  each  began  to  sus- 
picion the  other  of  unfair  methods  in  winning 
to  their  chui'ch  standards  the  new  converts,  and 
to  fear  that  the  cherished  doctrines  of  their 
confessions  were  in  danger.  The  result  of  the 
strife  which  followed  is  vividly  described  by  Mr. 


BARTON  W.  STOXE 


85 


Stone:  "It  revived  the  dying  spirit  of  party- 
ism,  and  gave  life  and  strength  to  trembling  in- 
fidels and  lifeless  professors.  The  sects  were 
aroused.  Methodists  and  Baptists,  who  had  so 
long  lived  in  peace  and  harmony  with  the  Pres- 
byterians and  with  one  another,  now  girded  on 
their  armor  and  marched  into  the  deathly  field 
of  controversy  and  war.  These  were  times  of 
distress.  The  spirit  of  partyism  soon  expelled 
the  spirit  of  love  and  union — peace  fled  before 
discord  and  strife,  and  religion  was  stifled  and 
banished  in  the  unhallowed  struggle  for  pre- 
eminence." 

Zr.    A  XE^r  DECLARATIOX  OF  IXDEPEXDENCE. 

The  Caneridge  revival,  whatever  may  be 
thought  of  its  manifestations,  had  brought 
Barton  W.  Stone  to  another  great  crisis  in  his 
religious  history.  During  its  continuance  he  and 
a  few  of  his  co-laborers  so  far  forgot  the  rigid 
standard  of  their  church  as  to  desire  the  salva- 
tion of  the  whole  world,  and  to  turn  tht-ir 
preaching  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  sub- 
lime purpose.  In  their  zeal  for  the  conversion 
of  mankind  they  had  ceased  to  preach  the  dead- 
ening dogmas  of  Calvinism,  its  unyielding  de- 
crees, its  hopeless  depravity,  its  limited  election 
and  its  withering  fatalism.  They  had  ventured 
to  teach  that  God  loved  the  world,  the  whole 
world,  and  sent  his  Son  to  save  them  on  condi- 


86 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


tion  that  tlie.y  believed  in  him;  that  the  Gospel 
was  the  means  of  salvation,  but  that  this  means 
would  never  be  effectual  to  this  end  until  be- 
lieved and  obeyed  by  us;  that  God  required  us 
to  believe  in  his  Son,  and  had  given  us  suflBcient 
evidence  in  his  Word  to  produce  faith  in  us,  if 
attended  to  by  us;  that  sinners  were  capable  of 
understanding  and  believing  this  testimony,  and 
of  acting  upon  it  by  coming  to  the  Savior  and 
obeying  him,  and  from  him  obtaining  salvation 
and  the  Holy  Spirit;  that  God  was  as  willing  to 
save  sinners  now  as  he  ever  was  or  ever  would 
be;  that  no  previous  qualification  Avas  required 
or  necessary  in  order  to  believe  in  Jesus;  that  if 
they  were  sinners  this  was  their  Divine  warrant 
to  believe  in  him  and  to  come  to  him  for  sal- 
vation. 

The  effect  of  such  preaching  upon  the  people 
was  to  awaken  them,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  sleep 
of  ages  and  cause  them  to  feel  their  own  respon- 
sibility. Those  who  had  previously  felt  them- 
selves hopelessly  beyond  the  pale  of  divine 
grace,  were  encouraged  to  accept  the  promises 
of  the  Gospel  and  I'ejoiced  in  their  new-found 
jDrivileges.  But  its  effect  upon  the  leaders  of 
Presbyterian  society  was  far  different.  It  served 
to  arouse  their  suspicion  and  awaken  a  spirit  of 
hostility  toward  the  offending  preachers. 

For  their  heretical  utterances,  B.  W.  Stone 
and  four  of  his  co-laborers,  Richard  McNemar, 


BARTON  W.  STONE 


87 


John  Thompson,  John  Dunlavy  and  Robert  Mar- 
shall, were  speedily  brought  to  account  by  the 
Synod  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Kentucky. 
Forseeing  their  fate  before  that  body,  they  drew 
up  a  protest,  declaring  their  independence  and 
withdrawal  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Synod. 
As  yet  they  had  no  thought  of  ceasing  to  hold  to 
the  Presl)yterian  faith,  and  that  they  might  con- 
tinue in  the  service  of  the  church  organized 
themselves  into  an  independent  Presbytery.  But 
soon  finding  this  position  an  impossible  one,  and 
the  whole  system  of  doctrine  out  of  harmony 
with  their  views,  these  young  men  now  took  an- 
other step  in  their  work  of  reform.  Renouncing 
their  allegiance  to  all  authority  but  that  of  their 
Divine  Master,  they  resolved  to  be  governed  by 
his  word  alone.  Rejecting  the  party  name  which 
they  had  so  long  worn,  they  called  themselves 
Christians.  From  the  curious  document  in 
which  they  announce  the  death  of  the  Presbytery 
and  their  independence  of  all  human  authority 
in  matters  of  religion,  we  quote  a  few  items: 

"We  will,  that  this  body  die,  be  dissolved,  and 
sink  into  union  with  the  body  of  Christ  at  large; 
for  there  is  but  one  body  and  one  Spirit  even  as 
we  are  called  in  one  hope  of  our  calling. 

"We  will,  that  our  name  of  distinction,  with 
its  Reverend  title,  be  forgotten,  that  there  be 
but  one  Lord  over  God's  heritage,  and  his  name 
one. 


88 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


"We  will,  that  our  power  of  making  laws  for 
the  government  of  the  church  and  executing 
them  by  delegated  authority,  forever  cease ;  that 
the  people  may  have  free  course  to  the  Bible, 
and  adopt  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life  in  Christ 
Jesus. 

"We  will,  that  candidates  for  the  Gospel  min- 
istry henceforth  study  the  Holy  Scriptures  with 
fervent  prayer,  and  obtain  license  from  God  to 
preach  the  simple  Gospel  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
sent  down  from  heaven,  without  any  mixture  of 
philosophy,  vain  deceit,  traditions  of  men  or  the 
rudiments  of  the  world. 

"We  will,  that  each  particular  church  as  a 
body,  actuated  by  the  same  spirit,  choose  her 
own  preacher,  and  support  him  by  a  free-will 
.offering,  without  a  written  call  or  subscription, 
admit  members,  remove  offenses,  and  never 
henceforth  delegate  the  right  of  government  to 
any  man  or  set  of  men  whatever. 

"We  will,  henceforth  that  the  people  take  the 
Bible  as  their  only  sure  guide  to  heaven ;  and  as 
many  as  are  offended  with  other  books  which 
stand  in  competition  with  it,  may  cast  them  into 
the  fire  if  they  choose;  for  it  is  better  to  enter 
into  life  having  one  book  than  having  many  to 
be  cast  into  hell. 

"We  will,  that  preachers  and  people  cultivate 
a  spirit  of  mutual  forbearance;  pray  more  and 
dispute  less;  and  while  they  behold  the  signs  of 


BARTON  \V.  STONE 


89 


the  times,  look  up,  and  confidently  expect  that 
redemption  draweth  nigh."  ^ 

In  this  act  of  dissent,  B.  W.  Stone  laid  him- 
self upon  the  altai*  of  sacrifice.  Having  with- 
drawn from  the  Presbyterian  Church,  he  could 
no  longer  consistently  labor  for  the  churches 
which  he  had  served  with  great  acceptance  for 
six  years.  Calling  his  people  together,  in  tears 
he  announced  his  new  position,  absolved  them 
from  further  obligation  to  contribute  to  his  sup- 
port, and  without  salary  went  out  to  serve  his 
Master  as  he  might  find  opportunity.  To  pro- 
vide for  the  wife,  whom  he  had  recently  mar- 
ried, he  turned  his  attention  to  the  cultivation  of 
a  little  farm.  In  this  new  role,  he  says:  "I 
relaxed  not  in  my  ministerial  labors,  preaching 
almost  every  night,  and  often  in  the  daytime,  to 
the  people  around.  I  had  no  money  to  hire 
laborers,  and  often  on  my  return  home  I  found 
the  weeds  were  getting  ahead  of  my  corn.  I  had 
often  to  labor  at  night  while  others  were  asleep 
to  redeem  my  lost  time." 

The  ground  which  this  new  religious  society, 
calling  themselves  Christians,  had  taken  in  re- 
gard to  the  Bible,  soon  drove  them  to  modify 
their  practices  in  many  particulars.  Among  the 
first  changes  was  the  abandonment  of  infant 
baptism  as  unscriptural.  This  was  soon  fol- 
lowed by  dissatisfaction  with  their  own  baptism, 

1  Autobiograpliy.  p.  51. 


90 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


all  having  been  sprinkled  in  infancy.  To  con- 
sider the  question,  a  conference  was  called,  and 
after  friendly  investigation  and  discussion  it  was 
decided  that  each  member  should  act  in  accord- 
ance with  his  own  conviction.  As  none  among 
them  had  been  immersed,  it  was  a  question 
whether  anyone  was  qualified  to  administer  bap- 
tism, which  was  finally  settled  upon  the  ground 
that  authority  to  preach  carried  with  it  authority 
to  baptize.  In  the  performance  of  this  newly 
discovered  duty,  the  ministers  first  baptized  each 
other  and  then  their  congregations. 

All  this  transpired  in  1804,  five  years  before 
Thoauis  Campbell  formulated  his  famous  declar- 
ation, and  eight  years  prior  to  his  baptism  and 
that  of  his  illustrious  son  in  the  waters  of  the 
Buffalo.  It  marks  the  beginning  of  a  reforma- 
tion whose  swelling  current  contributed,  in  no 
small  measure,  to  the  flood-tide  which  the  move- 
ment inaugurated  by  Mr.  Campbell  a  few  years 
later,  in  another  section  of  the  country,  has  since 
reached. 

V.    THE  PROGRESS  OF  TITE  REFORM  MOVEMENT. 

The  labors  of  B.  W.  Stone  were  greatly  in- 
creased by  the  independent  stand  he  had  taken 
on  the  Bible  alone.  Kindred  spirits  speedily 
rallied  to  his  support.  Churches  quickly  sprang 
up  over  a  wide  region,  rejecting  all  standards  but 
the  Bible  and  refusing  to  wear  any  name  but 


BARTON  W.  STONE 


91 


that  of  Christian.  To  niinister  to  these  scat- 
tered churches,  Mr.  Stone  and  his  co-hiborers 
now  devoted  themselves. 

Scarcely  had  the  work  been  inaugurated,  how- 
ever, before  the  very  life  of  the  churches  was 
threatened  by  the  appearance  of  a  strange  delu- 
sion. A  semi-religious,  socialistic  movement, 
known  as  Shakerism,  had  some  years  before 
established  several  communities  in  the  State  of 
New  York.  Its  leaders,  hearing  of  the  revolt 
against  Calvinism  led  by  Barton  W.  Stone,  sent 
their  missionaries  to  Kentucky,  who  soon  made 
sad  havoc  in  the  newly  planted  churches.  Many 
wei-e  carried  off  by  this  wild  fanaticism,  among 
the  number  two  of  the  preachers  who  had  gone 
out  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  along  with  Mr. 
Stone.  It  was  only  by  redoubled  effort of  Mr. 
Stone  that  the  churches  were  saved  from  this 
vortex  of  ruin.  "I  labored,"  says  he  in  de- 
scribing his  conflict  with  this  delusive  error, 
"night  and  day,  far  and  near,  among  the  churches 
where  ,  the  Shakers  went.  By  this  means  their 
influence  was  happily  checked  in  many  places;" 
and  soon  the  cause  began  again  to  make  rapid 
increase  in  numbers. 

A  little  later  the  two  remaining  ministers,  who 
with  Mr.  Stone  had  thrown  off  the  yoke  of  Pres- 
byterianism,  abandoned  the  movement,  reaffirm- 
ing their  faith  in  the  Westminster  Confession, 
and  returned  to  the  Presbyterian  fold.     "Of  the 


92 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


five  of  us,"  wrote  Mr.  Stone,  at  a  later  period, 
"that  left  the  Presbyterians,  I  only  was  left,  and 
they  sought  my  life."  Conscious  of  the  integ- 
rity of  his  purpose,  and  convinced  of  the  script- 
uralness  of  his  position,  Mr.  Stone  continued  to 
preach  to  the  churches  far  and  near,  to  any  who 
would  listen  to  him,  rendering  his  services  gra- 
tuitously, and  earning  as  best  he  could  the  sup- 
port of  his  family  out  of  his  little  farm.  There 
was  not  then,  nor  at  any  time  during  liis  long  life 
of  service,  anything  mercenary  in  his  work  for 
the  Master.  His  was  purely  a  service  of  love, 
and  his  evangelistic  labors  at  this  period  were 
wonderfully  blest.  Preaching  the  Gospel  as  he 
now  understood  it,  multitudes  flocked  to  his 
standard,  and  many  flourishing  churches  were 
founded  by  him  in  Western  Ohio,  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee. 

As  an  evangelist  among  the  pioneer  population 
of  newly  settled  States,  Mr.  Stone  was  without  a 
rival.  His  large,  generous  nature  quickly  won 
the  confidence  of  the  hardy  frontiersmen.  His 
zeal  and  originality  awakened  their  interest  and 
fixed  their  attention.  His  warm  sympathies  and 
strong  emotions  melted  them  to  repentance  and 
led  them  to  obedience.  Seldom  did  he  preach  a 
sermon  that  did  not  result  in  conversions,  some- 
times scores  coming  forward  to  make  public  con- 
fession at  the  close  of  a  single  address.  At 
other  times  the  wayside  cabin  with  its  lonely 


BARTON  \V.  STONE 


93 


occupant  i-eceived  with  gladness  his  message  of 
hope.  Here  is  a  scene  as  described  by  himself: 
"One  day  as  I  was  riding  slowly  along  a  small 
track  to  an  appointment  at  night,  I  was  passing 
by  a  small  hut,  when  a  woman  ran  out  and  called 
to  me.  I  stopped  my  horse.  She  told  me  she 
had  heard  me  preach  on  yesterday;  and  with  a 
heavenly  countenance  she  thanked  God  for  it; 
'for,'  said  she,  'the  Lord  has  blessed  my  soul. 
Will  you  baptize  me?'  'Yes,'  said  I,  'gladly  will 
I  do  it.'  I  dismounted  and  walked  into  the  cot- 
tage. 'O,'  said  she,  'will  you  wait  till  I  send  for 
my  sister,  a  short  distance  off.  She  was  with 
me  yesterday  and  the  Lord  has  blessed  her  too. 
She  wants  also  to  be  baptized.'  "  There,  in  the 
depths  of  the  forest,  in  a  stream  that  flowed  a 
short  distance  from  the  house,  was  witnessed  a 
scene,  as  the  two  went  down  into  the  water  in 
obedience  to  Christ,  that  rivals  in  picturesque- 
ness  and  simple  beauty  any  recorded  in  the  Word 
of  God. 

On  another  occasion,  as  he  was  returning  from 
one  of  his  appointments  he  w^as  overtaken  by  a 
gentleman  returning  from  the  same  meeting,  and 
the  two  continued  the  journey  together.  "I  in- 
troduced the  subject  of  religion,"  says  Mr. 
Stone,  "which  I  found  not  to  be  disagreeable  to 
him,  though  he  was  not  a  professor.  I  urged 
him  by  many  arguments  to  a  speedy  return  to 
the  Lord.    His  mind,  I  saw,  was  troubled  and 


94 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


vacilating  as  to  his  choice  of  life  or  death.  At 
length  we  came  to  a  clear  running  stream;  he 
said,  'See,  here  is  water,  what  doth  hinder  nie  to 
be  baptized?'  I  instantly  replied  in  Philip's 
language,  'If  thou  believest  with  all  thine  heart, 
thou  maj'est.'  He  said,  'I  believe  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,  and  am  determined 
hereafter  to  be  his  servant.'  Without  anything 
more  we  alighted  and  I  baptized  him." 

The  labors  of  this  faithful  evangelist  were 
accompanied  by  many  trials  and  hardships. 
Affliction  overtook  him  in  1809  in  the  loss  of  his 
only  son,  and  a  little  later  in  the  death  of  his 
companion.  He  now  sold  his  little  farm,  ex- 
pecting to  remove  to  Tennessee,  but  the  breth- 
ren in  Kentuck}'  were  loth  to  give  him  up. 
They  promised  to  supply  his  family  with  every 
necessity  if  he  would  remain.  He  was  finally 
induced  to  locate  in  Lexington,  and  as  his 
brethren  soon  forgot  their  promise,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  enter  the  school-room  for  suppoi't. 
For  this  work  he  was  eminently  qualified  and 
remarkably  successful.  After  a  time  he  opened 
an  academy  in  Georgetown,  which  was  equally 
prosperous.  But  while  engaged  in  these  duties 
he  did  not  forget  his  higher  calling,  and  contin- 
ued to  preach  with  power  and  acceptance  in  all 
the  regions  round  about.  "The  remembrance  of 
these  days,"  writes  Mr.  Stone  in  his  autobiog- 
raphy, "and  of  the  great  and  good  works  which 


BARTON  \V.  STONE 


95 


were  effected  by  my  humble  labors,  will  cause 
many  to  shout  the  praises  of  God  to  eternity." 

While  engaged  in  his  great  work  in  Kentucky, 
Mr.  Stone's  pathway  was  crossed  by  another  in 
whose  breast  was  cherished  the  spirit  of  reform. 
That  man  was  Alexander.  Campbell.  The  two 
first  met  in  the  autumn  of  1824,  and  were  not 
slow  in  recognizing  each  other's  worth.  Both 
had  grasped  the  importance  of  a  return  to  the 
primitive  faith.  Mr.  Stone  had  been  the  first  to 
take  this  ground,  but  Mr.  Campbell  possessed 
elements  of  leadership  signally  lacking  in  Mr. 
Stone,  and  it  is  doubtless  due  to  this  that  to 
him  is  assigned  the  first  place  and  to  Mr.  Stone 
the  second  in  the  great  work  to  which  their 
lives  were  devoted. 

This  meeting  of  the  two  reformers  led  to  a 
friendly  interest  in  each  other's  work.  At  first 
there  seemed  to  be  irreconcilable  differences 
between  them.  Mr.  Campbell  suspected  Mr. 
Stone  of  cherishing  unsound  views  respecting 
the  claims  of  Christ.  Mr.  Stone  suspected  Mr. 
Campbell  of  error  in  his  conception  of  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  when  these  two  men 
sat  down  at  the  fireside  and  talked  over  their 
differences,  they  found  themselves  so  near  to- 
gether as  to  throw  the  veil  of  charity  over  each 
other's  imperfections  and  joined  hands  in  the 
embrace  of  lasting  fellowship. 

The  generous  spirit  of  Mr.  Stone,  in  this 


96 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


union  of  two  great  natures,  finds  expression  in 
the  following  declaration:  "I  will  not  say  there 
are  no  faults  in  Bro.  Campbell,  but  that  there 
are  fewer,  perhaps,  in  him  than  any  man  I  know 
on  earth;  and  over  these  few  my  love  would 
throw  a  veil  and  hide  them  forever  from  view. 
I  am  constrained,  and  willingly  constrained,  to 
acknowledge  him  the  greatest  promoter  of  this 
reformation  of  any  living  man." 

That  this  esteem  was  reciprocated  by  the 
great  leader  of  the  Reformation,  we  may  gather 
from  his  words  written  at  the  time  of  Mr. 
Stone's  death:  "He  was  the  honored  instru- 
ment of  bringing  many  out  of  the  ranks  of 
human  tradition  and  putting  into  their  hands 
the  Book  of  Books,  as  their  only  confession  of 
faith  and  rule  of  life,  and  will,  no  doubt,  on  this 
account,  as  well  as  others,  long  continue  to  be  a 
blessing  to  those  who,  by  his  instrumentality, 
have  already  been,  or  may  hereafter  be,  trans- 
lated into  the  fulness  of  the  blessings  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ." 

In  1832  the  followers  of  these  two  religious 
leaders  flowed  together  throughout  Kentucky 
into  a  harmonious  and  lasting  union.  "This 
union,  irrespective  of  reproach,"  says  Mr. 
Stone,  "I  view  as  the  noblest  act  of  my  life." 

ri.    A  GOLDEN  SUNSET. 

"No  man,"   said  Solon,  the  Grecian  sage,, 


BARTON  \V.  STONE 


97 


"can  be  counted  fully  happy  till  a  happy  death 
has  closed  a  happy  life."  Upon  this  basis  the 
career  of  Barton  W.  Stone  was  an  enviable  one 
from  first  to  last.  Always  genial  and  sunny  iu 
nature,  his  closing  j'ears,  as  they  reflected  the 
joy  that  awaited  him,  resembled  a  golden  sunset 
at  the  close  of  a  summer  day. 

His  had  been  a  dispensation  of  love  from  the 
beginning.  The  element  of  selfishness  was  as 
nearly  eliminated  from  his  character  as  that  of 
any  man  that  every  lived.  From  the  beginning 
of  his  ministry  he  had  been  engaged  in  a  work  of 
unselfish  service.  His  love  of  sinners  led  him  to 
preach  the  Gospel  of  salvation  without  remuner- 
ation, even  at  the  cost  of  many  privations  and 
sacrifices.  His  love  for  a  race  of  bondsmen  led 
him  to  emancipate  his  slaves,  and  put  his  own 
hands  to  the  plow  in  their  stead.  His  love  for 
his  brethren  made  his  whole  life  one  ceaseless 
effort  to  bring  them  to  the  joys  of  everlasting 
salvation.  "The  goodness  of  his  heart,  the 
sweetness  of  his  manners,  his  cheerfulness,  his 
quiet,  peaceable  and  obliging  deportment  great- 
ly endeared  him  to  those  among  whom  he  lived." 
As  he  advanced  in  years  these  characteristics 
became  more  pi'ominent,  and  his  hold  upon  the 
affections  of  his  people  wherever  he  labored 
increased  to  the  end.  "Everybody  loves  Mr. 
Stone,"   said  a  fellow-laborer  in  the  Gospel, 

"and  Mr.  Stone  loves  everybody." 
7 


98 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


After  many  years  of  service  in  Kentucky,  Mr. 
Stone  felt  constrained  in  1834  to  change  his  field 
of  labor.  For  several  years  he  had  edited  and 
published  a  monthly  religious  journal  called  the 
"Christian  Messenger,"  and  he  now  sought  a 
suitable  place  to  continue  its  publication  and  at 
the  same  time  to  proclaim  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ.  With  this  object  in  view  he 
located  in  Jacksonville,  111.,  which  furnished 
him  a  home  during  his  remaining  years.  Here, 
as  elsewhere,  his  supreme  motive  was  to  secure 
the  union  of  God's  children  upon  the  one  foun- 
dation. Finding  two  churches  in  Jacksonville, 
the  Christians  and  Discii^les,  or  as  nicknamed 
by  their  enemies,  "New  Lights"  and  "Camp- 
bellites,"  he  refused  to  unite  with  either  until 
they  had  become  one  body  in  Christ's  service. 

In  184i  Mr.  Stone  suffered  from  a  paralytic 
stroke,  which  left  him  a  cripple  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  and  which  with  the  accom- 
panying infirmities  of  age  brought  his  active 
ministry  to  a  close.  He  so  far  recovered,  how- 
ever, as  often  to  speak  to  the  edification  and 
delight  of  his  brethren,  his  mind  retaining  its 
accustomed  vigor  and  good  cheer. 

As  the  old  veteran  of  the  cross  stood  facing 
the  setting  sun,  the  desire  possessed  him  to  visit 
once  more  the  scenes  of  his  early  conflicts  and 
victories,  and  to  look  into  the  faces  of  old  com- 
rades, scattered  throughout  Indiana,  Ohio  and 


BARTON'  W.  vSTOXE 


99 


Kentucky-,  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  years.  To 
gratify  this  desire  the  old  pilgrim  started  on  his 
last  pilgrimage,  a  preaching  tour  throughout 
these  States.  The  experiences  of  this  journey 
were  among  the  most  touching  of  his  life.  It 
was  like  the  triumphal  procession  in  honor  of 
some  old  Roman  hero.  Everywhere  he  was 
received  with  open  arms.  Multitudes,  among 
whom  his  memory  was  sacred,  would  flock  to 
hear  him.  Old  men  who  had  shared  with  him 
the  hardships  of  the  early  pioneer  days,  as  he 
entered  their  assemblies,  would  fall  upon  his 
neck  in  true  patriarchal  fashion,  in  tears,  sor- 
rowing most  of  all  that  they  would  never  again 
see  his  face.  These  meetings  revived  afresh 
their  memories  of  conflicts,  persecutions,  sacri- 
fices, of  joys  and  triumphs  in  the  cause  of  truth, 
and  as  they  clasped  hands  again  they  wept  and 
rejoiced,  they  sang  and  prayed  together,  and 
then  after  the  parting  hand  the  aged  pilgrim, 
leaning  upon  his  staff,  passed  on  to  some  other 
scene  of  happy  memories. 

In  this  way  he  continued  his  journey,  at  last 
reaching  Caneridge,  the  scene  of  his  early  labors 
in  the  ministry.  Here  was  witnessed  a  scene,  as 
the  venerable  Stone  again  entered  the  pulpit  of 
the  old  Caneridge  Church,  that  baflles  descrip- 
tion. Nearly  fifty  years  before,  in  the  bloom  of 
youth  and  radiant  with  hope,  he  had  entered 
upon  his  ministry  in  Kentucky  at  this  point. 


100 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


Here  viist  multitudes,  souietimes  numbering 
thousands,  were  held  by  his  iible  presentation  of 
the  Gospel,  and  melted  to  tears  and  repentance 
by  his  earnest  appeals.  Now  he  stood  before 
them,  his  form  bent  under  the  weight  of  years, 
his  hair  l)lanched  by  the  storms  of  more  than 
seventy  winters,  his  eyes  dimmed  and  his  brow 
furrowed  with  many  cares.  Grey-haired  veter- 
ans for  miles  around,  forgetful  of  denomina- 
tional differences,  had  assembled  to  hear  Mr. 
Stone  preach  his  farewell  sermon  upon  the  spot 
that  will  ever  be  inseparably  associated  with  his 
memory.  The  scene  was  most  affecting.  As  he 
arose  to  speak  "the  silence  of  death  pervaded 
the  vast  assembly,  all  leaning  forward  with 
intense  interest  to  catch  every  word  of  the  part- 
ing instruction  of  their  father  in  the  Gospel." 

Taking  for  his  text  the  farewell  address  of 
Paul  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus,  he  read  and 
talked  in  turn  with  deep  emotion.  Tears 
started  from  his  eyes  and  flowed  down  his 
cheeks  as  he  dwelt  upon  the  experiences  of  the 
past,  and  his  emotion  soon  found  reflection  in 
his  sympathetic  audience.  All  wept  as  they 
recalled  the  scenes  of  other  days,  tears  of  joy 
over  the  great  victories  that  had  been  won,  and 
of  sorrow  over  the  sad  havoc  time  had  made 
among  the  ranks  of  that  valiant  army  of  re- 
formers. 

As  the  venerable  preacher  read,  "And  now, 


BARTON  \V.  STOXE 


101 


beloved,  I  know  that  ye  all,  among  whom  I  have 
gone  preaching  the  kingdom  of  God,  shall  see 
my  face  no  more,"  the  effect  was  electrical. 
The  whole  audience  was  convulsed  with  tears, 
and  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  Mr.  Stone 
was  enabled  to  close  his  discourse.  As  a  parting 
hymn  was  being  sung,  he  descended  from  the 
pulpit,  grasped  his  friends  who  gathered  round 
him  by  the  hand,  and  as  the  song  ended  he 
kneeled  down  and  prayed  with  a  fervor  and 
power  that  only  those  who  are  in  sight  of  the 
promised  land  can  pray.  Thus  ended  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  gatherings  in  Christian  history. 
As  the  old  preacher  passed  out,  supported  by 
friends,  he  paused  for  a  moment,  looked  about 
him  at  the  old  meeting-house,  the  marble  slabs 
that  mai-ked  the  sleeping  place  of  many  of  his 
friends,  and  then  passed  on,  remarking  with 
emotion,  "I  shall  see  this  place  no  more." 

His  anticipation  of  the  final  victory  was  short- 
ly realized.  Only  a  few  months  later,  after  a 
sermon  preached  with  something  of  the  old 
evangelistic  fervor,  he  was  stricken  down  with 
fatal  illness.  Faith,  hope  and  patience  were 
never  more  beautifully  exemplified  than  in  his 
closing  hours.  When  asked  what  he  now 
thought  of  the  doctrines  he  had  preached,  he 
replied,  "1  may  indeed  have  held  some  erroneous 
opinions  on  minor  points,  but  in  the  main  I  con- 
scientiously believe  I  have  taught  the  truth,  and 


102 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


have  tried  to  live  what  I  have  preached  to 
others.  But  it  is  not  by  works  of  righteous- 
ness that  I  have  done,  but  according  to  His 
mercy,  He  saved  me  by  the  washing  of  regener- 
ation and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
which  he  shed  on  me  abundantly  through  Jesus 
Christ.  It  is  of  grace,  it  is  all  of  grace."  Thus 
he  died,  in  the  autumn  of  1844,  none  more  be- 
loved than  he.  He  may  at  times  have  held 
errors  in  doctrine,  but  he  was  always  sound  in 
heart  and  correct  in  life,  and  left  behind  him  a 
memory  which  should  be  cherished  by  all  who 
love  the  cause  to  which  his  life  was  devoted. 

Barton  W.  Stone  was  not  a  great  man.  Intel- 
lectually he  was  not  to  be  compared  with  his 
great  co-laborer,  Alexander  Campbell.  He 
lacked  the  depth  of  thought  and  power  of  dis- 
crimination that  characterized  the  latter;  and 
failing  to  take  a  comprehensive  view  of  the 
great  scheme  of  redemption,  was  often  led  into 
fruitless  speculation  and  erroneous  conclusions. 
He  had  failed  to  see  what  Mr.  Campbell  had  dis- 
covered in  the  beginning  of  his  dissent  from 
authoritative  creeds, — that  it  was  a  waste  of 
thought  and  time  to  attempt  to  be  wise  above 
what  was  written. 

It  thus  happened  that  all  his  life  long  he  was 
troubled  over  specuhitive  questions,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  trinity,  the  nature  of  the  atonement. 


BARTON  \V.  STONE 


103 


etc.  In  his  efforts  at  their  solution  he  not  only 
failed  to  satisfy  his  own  mind,  but  often  brought 
upon  himself  and  his  cause  the  grave  charge  of 
heterodoxy.  That  at  heart  he  was  a  true  fol- 
lower of  the  Son  of  God,  whatever  the  foolish 
ideas  that  at  times  filled  his  head,  these  words 
written  but  a  short  while  before  his  death, 
amply  prove : 

"I  believe  the  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the 
Savior  of  the  world,  that  whosoever  believeth  on 
him  might  not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life. 
I  believe  that  all  power  and  authority  in  heaven 
and  earth  are  given  unto  him, and  that  he  is  able 
to  save  unto  the  uttermost  all  that  come  to  God 
by  him;  that  in  him  are  all  the  treasures  of  wis- 
dom and  knowledge ;  that  it  pleased  the  Father 
that  in  him  should  all  fulness  dwell,  the  fulness 
of  the  godhead,  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit,  the 
fulness  of  grace  and  salvation.  When  we  see 
him  we  see  the  Father,  his  image,  his  character, 
his  glory  and  his  perfection.  Let  me  lose  my 
life  before  I  would  detract  from  my  Lord  one 
ray  of  his  glory."  ^ 

But  if  not  great,  he  was  good.  His  life  was 
without  a  blemish.  His  nature  was  perhaps  too 
gentle  for  the  stern  times  in  which  he  lived,  and 
for  the  severe  conflicts  through  which  he  passed. 
Being  reviled,  he  reviled  not  again.  But,  while 
beal'ing  the  enemy's  reproach  without  resent- 

1  Millennial  Harbinger,  1845. 


104 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


ment,  he  never  swerved  from  the  course  which 
he  believed  to  be  right.  Even  his  enemies  in 
doctrine  acknowledged  that  whatever  the  faults 
of  his  creed,  his  life  was  one  of  unrivaled  beaut}'. 

It  thus  happened,  that,  without  any  special 
qualification  for  leadership,  without  being  either 
a  great  preacher  or  profound  thinker,  he  never- 
theless left  his  impress  upon  a  generation  of 
plain-living,  hard-thinking  pioneers,  and  con- 
tributed in  no  small  measure  to  the  triumph  of 
a  great  cause  in  three  States.  He  was  great, 
enduringly  great,  in  his  goodness. 


jiUlN  SMiril 


in. 


For  several  years  past,  I  have  stood  pledged  to  meet  the 
religious  world,  or  any  pai't  of  it,  on  the  ancient  Gospel  and 
order  of  things,  as  presented  in  the  words  of  the  Book. 
This  is  the  foundation  on  which  Christians  once  stood,  and 
on  it  they  can,  and  ought  to,  stand  again.  From  this  1  can 
not  depart  to  meet  any  man,  or  set  of  men,  in  the  wide  world. 
While,  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  Christian  union,  I  have  long 
since  waived  the  public  maintenance  of  any  speculation  I  may 
hold,  yet  not  one  Gospel  fact,  command,  or  promise,  will  I 
surrender  for  the  world. — John  Smith. 
106 


JOHN  SMITH. 


I.   A  CHILD  OF  THE  BACKWOODS. 

'rontier  life  a  century  ago  produced  many 


unique  characters,  "diamonds  in  the  rough," 
which  only  needed  the  polish  of  education  and 
culture  to  have  shone  with  unrivaled  splendor. 

To  this  class  of  gems  belongs  John  Smith,  a 
faithful  preacher  of  the  reformation  in  Ken- 
tucky, familiarly  known  as  "Raccoon"  John 
Smith.  How  he  came  by  this  distinguishing  pre- 
fix is  not  quite  clear;  but  it  seems  to  have 
attached  itself  to  him  after  a  characteristic 
sermon  in  his  earh'  ministry,  which  he  prefaced 
by  saying: 

"I  am  John  Smith  from  Stockton  Valley.  In 
more  recent  years  I  have  lived  in  Wayne,  among 
the  rocks  and  hills  of  the  Cumberland.  Down 
there  saltpeter  caves  abound  and  raccoons  make 
their  homes.  On  that  wild  frontier  we  never 
had  good  schools,  nor  many  books;  conse- 
quently I  stand  before  you  to-day  a  man  without 
an  education.  But,  my  brethren,  even  in  that 
ill-favored  region,  the  Lord,  in  good  time,  found 
me.    He  showed  me  his  wondrous  grace  and 


(107) 


108 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


Cillk'd  me  to  preach  tlie  everlasting  Gospel  of 
his  Son." 

Whether  then  or  not  until  later,  it  is  sure  that 
at  an  early  period  he  came  to  l)e  known  as  "Rac- 
coon" John  Smith,  a  name  which  is  associated 
with  the  most  stirring  experiences  of  the  refor- 
mation inaugurated  by  Alexander  Campbell. 

John  Smith  begaii  his  life  in  this  world  of 
ours,  October  15,  1784,  in  a  log  cabin  among  the 
woods  and  hills  of  East  Tennessee,  whither  his 
parents  had  moved  a  short  time  before  his  birth. 
The  circumstances  that  drove  them  from  Virginia 
to  the  wilds  beyond  the  Alleghany  Mountains, 
show  something  of  the  strength  of  conviction  and 
character  to  which  this  child  of  the  backwoods 
was  heir.  His  father  and  mother  had  espoused 
the  Baptist  faith.  But  as  Virginia,  at  that  time, 
had  an  established  form  of  religion,  the  Episco- 
pal, Baptists  were  a  despised,  hunted,  perse- 
cuted people.  They  were  described  by  their 
persecutors  as  "schismatical  persons,  so  averse 
to  the  established  religion,  and  so  filled  with  the 
new-fangled  conceits  of  their  heretical  inven- 
tions, as  to  refuse  to  have  their  children  bap- 
tized." It  was  in  defense  of  some  of  these 
people  who  were  arraigned  for  "preaching  the 
Gospel  contrary  to  law,"  that  the  celebrated 
Pati'ick  Henry  once  arose  and  exclaimed  with 
electrical  effect:  "May  it  please  your  worships, 
what  did  I  hear  read?    Did  I  hear  an  expression 


JOHN  SMITH 


109 


that  these  men  whom  your  worships  are  about  to 
try  for  misdemeanor  are  charged  with  preaching 
the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God?''' 

To  escape  from  this  galling  oppression  and  to 
secure  religious  privileges  which  were  so  dear  to 
him,  George  Smith  took  his  little  flock  into  the 
wilderness,  seeking  mercy  at  the  hands  of  savage 
tribes  of  the  forest,  which  was  not  accorded  him 
by  the  savage  spirit  of  religious  intolerance.  In 
his  new  home  he  was  at  least  free  to  work  out 
the  great  problem  of  his  own  destiny  in  har- 
mony with  the  dictates  of  conscience  and  the 
leadings  of  Providence.  He  was  a  Calvinist,  at 
a  period  when  Calvinism  presented  all  those  ele- 
ments of  severity  and  unloveliness  that  make  us 
shudder  still  at  the  word.  '"To  labor  for  their 
daily  bread  and  to  wait  with  humbleness  of  heart 
for  the  Holy  Ghost,  were  the  two  great  com- 
mandments on  which  hung  all  his  precepts  and 
admonitions." 

The  home  in  which  John  Smith  spent  his 
childhood,  though  rude  in  fashion  and  humble 
in  dimensions,  was  "as  comfortable  and  well 
appointed  as  any  in  all  the  country  around." 
The  house  is  described  as  a  "double  cabin,  built 
of  logs,  scalped  within  and  without  and  daubed 
with  clay.  The  floor  was  laid  with  puncheons, 
smoothly  dubbed  with  an  adze ;  a  carpet  or  a  rug 
was  a  thing  unknown.  A  broad  hearth  was  laid 
at  each  end  of  the  house,  and  from  the  arches 


110 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


above  the  low  chiinnej's  were  carried  with  stick.s 
and  clay.  A  ladder  led  from  a  corner  of  one  of 
the  rooms  below  to  the  loft  above.  Shelves 
rested  on  wooden  pins  driven  into  the  walls,  on 
which  were  j)laced  the  nicely  scoured  trenchers 
and  a  row  of  shining  pewter  plates." 

As  was  to  be  expected,  in  this  home,  sur- 
rounded by  the  uncleared  forest,  there  was  no 
room  for  idlers.  To  each  child  in  such  a  house- 
hold some  work  was  assigned  almost  as  soon  as 
they  were  out  of  the  cradle.  There  was  so  much 
to  do.  A  home  in  the  backwoods,  in  addition  to 
its  domestic  relations  and  duties,  was  a  minia- 
ture manufacturing  plant,  where  various  indus- 
tries were  carried  on.  The  corn  which  supplied 
the  daily  bread  had  to  be  ground  into  meal  by 
hand.  The  linen  for  summer  wear  was  made 
from  the  raw  material,  and  the  warm  winter 
garments  were  made  from  wool  that  was  carded, 
spun  and  woven  under  the  family  roof-tree. 

These  varied  industries  gave  plenty  of  work 
for  all,  and  though  eight  brothers  and  sisters  had 
preceded  him  in  the  family  circle,  there  were  still 
tasks  for  John's  tender  hands.  At  six  or  seven 
years  ,  of  age  his  "term  of  service  began,  and 
from  that  period  of  his  life  he  knew  no  idle 
days.  He  gathered  chips  and  fagots  in  the 
forest  and  piled  them  on  the  hearth;  he  hunted 
the  shelly  bark  on  the  hills  and  stored  it  away 
for  the  evening  blaze;    he  pulled  the  purple 


JOHN  SMITH 


111 


crab-grass  from  the  j'oung  corn,  and  plied  his 
hoe  among  the  garden  vines.  Through  the  hot 
summer  days  it  was  .his  task  to  run  again  and 
again  down  the  long,  grassy  hill  to  the  spring 
and  bring  back  the  dripping  piggin  for  lips  that 
were  sure  to  chide  him  for  the  least'  delay.  No 
day  except  the  Sabbath,  no  season,  whether  of 
heat  or  cold,  found  him  unemployed.  Economy 
provided  work  even  for  stormy  days." 

In  a  household  so  busily  engaged  in  the  strug- 
gle for  material  necessities  but  little  attention 
could  be  paid  to  the  intellectual  wants.  The 
schoolmaster  was  not  yet  abroad  in  the  land,  and 
it  was  only  by  the  rarest  chance  that  the  aspiring 
youth  found  his  way  through  the  simplest  rudi- 
ments of  an  education.  In  the  Smith  family 
this  lack  was  partly  met  by  the.  busy  mother, 
who  gathered  her  little  ones  about  the  winter's 
fire  and  recalled,  for  their  in.<truction,  the  read- 
ings of  her  girlish  days,  and  delighted  them  with 
stories  of  the  past.  Herself  of  Irish  birth,  and 
learned  in  "all  the  wild  and  beautiful  legends  of 
her  native  land,  the  stories  and  ballads  that  had 
touched  her  own  heart  when  a  child,  became 
now,  in  the  absence  of  books,  the  literature  of 
her  cabin — her  children's  poetry  and  faith." 

When  John  was  about  ten  years  of  age,  the 
first  teacher  appeared  in  the  quiet  valley  where 
the  family  lived,  and  he  was  permitted  to  lay 
aside  his  work  for  a  season,  that  he  might  make 


112 


MEN  OF  YEvSTERDAY 


good  use  of  the  opportunity  for  a  schooling.  So 
well  did  he  improve  the  four  months'  term  of 
this,  his  first,  and  for  years  his  only  school,  as 
to  master  the  art  of  reading  and  open  the  way 
to  self-education.  "Beginning  with  the  first 
letter  of  the  alphabet,  he  passed  through  the 
spelling-book,  and  at  the  end  of  the  quarter  was 
a  tolerable  reader  of  the  New  Testament."  The 
Bible,  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  a  hymn- 
book — the  entire  family  library — were  now  un- 
locked to  his  inquisitive  mind,  and  were  read 
and,  though  he  found  but  little  time  for  study, 
committed  to  memory.  Thus  in  the  heart  of  the 
wilderness  was  God  fashioning  the  mind  of  one 
of  the  most  interesting  preachers  of  the  Reform- 
ation. 

When  young  Smith  was  in  his  twelfth  year, 
the  migratory  spirit  again  seized  the  head  of 
the  family.  Though  George  Smith  shared  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  valley  of  the  Holston,  which 
began  to  "smile  everywhere  with  pleasant 
homes  and  cultivated  fields,"  he  determined  to 
plunge  into  the  wilderness  once  more,  with  a 
view  to  securing  cheap  lands  and  providing  for 
the  future  of  his  growing  family. 

Having  sold  his  Tennessee  farm,  he  set  out,  in 
the  autumn  of  1795,  accompanied  by  John  and 
an  elder  brother,  on  the  trail  that  led  across  the 
Cumberland  Mountains  into  the  then  unsettled 
territory  of  Kentucky,  in  search  of  a  "goodly 


JOHN  SMITH 


113 


spot  where  he  might  build  a  cabin,  phint  a  patch 
of  corn,  and  prepare  as  well  as  he  could  for  the 
family"  that  was  to  join  him  in  the  coming  suni- 
Mior.  Here-  in  a  beautiful  region,  known  as 
Stockton's  Valley,  the  painful  and  laborious  task 
of  making  a  home  in  the  forest  was  begun. 
Here,  undaunted  by  the  cold  of  winter  or  the 
perils  of  the  wilderness,  the  ax  of  the  'pioneer 
prepared  the  materials  for  the  house,  and 
cleared  a  few  acres  of  land.  In  order  to  pro- 
cure corn  for  the  planting  it  was  necessary  to 
send  a  hundred  miles  through  almost  trackless 
forests.  This  task  naturally  fell  upon  John,  as 
least  capable  of  rendering  service  in  the  clear- 
ing. AVith  a  stout  heart  he  accepted  the  respon- 
sibility, and  ill-clad,  through  wintry  weather, 
without  a  guide,  he  made  the  journey  with  a 
pack-horse,  and  returned  with  the  needed  sup- 
plies. It  was  during  this  winter  of  hardship  that 
John  began  and  completed  his  study  of  '"modern 
languages," — with  his  ready  memory  pickiiiii'  up 
the  uncouth  tongue  of  Indian  hunters,  w  ho  built 
their  camp-fires  near  the  cabin.  This,  his  only 
linguistic  attainment  b(>yond  his  vigorous  mother 
tongue,  he  never  forgot. 

In  the  new  home,  the  life  of  the  boy  contin- 
ued its  development  along  such  lines  as  its  rude 
surroundings  stimulated.  Of  work  there  was 
plenty,  and  from  his  daily  tasks  he  never  shrank. 

Of   opportunitv    for   intellectual  development 
8 


114 


MEN  OK  YESTERDAY 


there  was  none,  and  the  thirst  of  the  ambitious 
youth  remained  unquenched.  Once  a  drunken 
vagabond,  assuming  the  role  of  teacher,  entered 
the  vaUey  and  began  a  school,  of 'which  John 
became  a  ho[)eful  i)upil,  but  the  incompetence 
of  the  inaster  turned  his  ambition  into  disgust, 
and  his  naliirul  humor  1(k1  him  to  pranks  which 
drove  the  teaciier  from  the  community  in  dis- 
grace. 

II.   ^EF.Kiyc,  AssruAXi-i:  oh'  s.ma'atiox. 

At  this  period,  John  Smith's  spiritual  nature 
gave  promise  of  })eing  as  untamed  as  the  forest 
that  surrounded  his  home.  Unhallowed  sports 
crei)t  into  the  backwoods.  Sunday  horse-races 
and  cards  became  the  pastime  of  young  men. 
For  the  latter  John  had  a  fondness,  and  would 
creep  away  on  Sundays  to  spend  the  da}'  with 
idle  companions  in  his  favorite  game ;  but  tlie 
grief  and  ))atience  of  the  father  at  last  touched 
his  heart,  and  he  threw  away  his  cards,  saying, 
"It  is  wrong  to  distress  so  good  a  father  as  ours; 
it  is  a  sin  and  a  shame." 

This  proved  to  be  the  turning-point  in  the 
young  man's  career,  and  with  it  came  the  ques- 
tion of  religion  demanding  his  consideration. 
Indeed,  the  subject  in  some  form  had  been  kept 
before  him  since  his  earliest  recollection.  But 
the  doctrine  taught,  at  that  time,  was  not  very 
attractive  to  young  hearts.     Calvinism  in  its 


JOHN  SMITH 


115 


severest  tj'pe  was  prevalent.  It  taught  a  "hell 
of  the  most  appalling  type,  into  which  even  lit- 
tle children  might  be  cast;  an  unalterable  des- 
tiny for  every  one,  regardless  of  his  conduct  or 
his  creed,  as  God  might  have  chosen  him  for 
heaven  or  doomed  him  to  hell  before  he  was 
boi-n;  a  dread  uncertainty  that  rested  on  his 
fate;  his  utter  inability  to  understand  the  Scrip- 
tures, to  believe  or  repent,  to  love  God  or  to 
obey  him,  until  endued  with  power  from  on 
high;  the  necessity  of  some  supernatural  sign  or 
sensation,  some  miraculous  voice  or  vision,  as  an 
evidence  of  pardon  and  acceptance  with  God." 

It  was  natural  that  John  should  imbibe  the 
temper  of  his  father's  creed,  and  for  him  to 
expect,  should  he  be  among  the  elect,  that  some 
visible  or  audible  manifestation  of  Divine  ap- 
proval should  be  given  him.  The  great  revival 
which  swept  the  country  in  the  beginning  years 
of  this  century  was  at  its  height  as  he  l)egan 
seriously  to  think  upon  the  subject  of  religion. 
It  was  the  theme  he  heard  discussed  on  every 
hand,  and  he  determined  to  investigate  it  as  far 
at  his  limited  resources  would  permit.  Failing 
to  find  the  way  to  assured  salvation,  he  at  last 
appealed  to  a  good  old  Baptist  preacher,  Isaac 
Denton,  a  friend  of  the  family,  for  light  upon 
the  subject  which  was  beginning  to  agitate  his 
mind. 

According  to  the  prevailing  notion,  conversion 


116 


MEN  OP"  YESTERDAY 


was  a  change  of  a  mysterious  nature  wrought 
out  in  the  soul  by  supernatural  agency.  This 
change  John  now  sincerely  desired  to  experfence. 

"W"hat  must  I  do,"  he  inquired  of  the  faith- 
ful minister,  "in  order  to  have  this  change  of 
which  you  speak?" 

"Nothing,  John,"  was  the  reply.  "God's 
grace  is  sovereign  and  unconditional.  If  you 
are  his  sheep  you  will  be  called,  and  you  will 
hear  his  voice  and  follow  him." 

"But  when,  Mr.  Denton,  will  the  Lord  call?" 

"In  his  own  good  time,  John.  He  has  worked 
out  your  whole  life,  and  determined  your  destiny 
according  to  his  own  wise,  but  hidden  and 
eternal,  purpose." 

"IIow,  then,  may  I  know,"  continued  the 
anxious  youth,  "whether  I  am  one  of  his  sheep 
or  not?" 

"You  will  know  it  by  your  change  when  it 
comes;  till  then  you  can  only  wait  on  the  Lord 
and  hope." 

It  is  not  strange  that  a  young  man  with  the 
keen  intellect  of  John  Smith  should  have 
turned  from  such  instruction,  saying,  "Since  my 
destiny  is  fixed  and  I  cannot  change  it,  I  need 
not,  then,  give  myself  any  concern.  I  have 
nothing  to  do." 

But  his  heart  was  not  to  be  stifled  by  the  for- 
liidding  theology  of  his  time.  While  stoutly, 
for  a  season,  maintaining  his  unbelief,  his  posi- 


JOHN  SMITH 


117 


tion  was  not  satisfactory  to  himself,  and  be 
resolved  at  last  to  examine  the  subject  in  the 
light  of  the  Scriptures.  Though  failing  to  find 
proof  of  the  doctrines  taught,  he  became  con- 
vinced of  his  dut}'  to  be  a  Christian ;  and  know- 
ing no  way  of  approach  to  Christ,  he  began 
earnestly  and  persistently  to  seek  religion  after 
the  manner  of  the  times.  The  illness  and  death 
of  his  venerable  father,  in  the  spring  of  1804, 
deepened  his  interest  in  personal  salvation,  and 
from  that  time  through  many  weary  months, 
he  sought  for  assurance  of  saving  grace.  In  his 
fruitless  search  his  agony  was  indescribable. 

He  was  taught  that  an  indispensable  step  to 
salvation  was  to  feel  himself  the  greatest  of  sin- 
ners. This  he  tried  to  do,  and  then  despaired  of 
salvation,  simply  lieeause  he  could  not  feel  that 
he  was  "too  wicked  to  be  saved."  A  gloomy 
cloud  overshadowed  his  sunny  temper.  His 
nights  were  sleepless  and  his  days  filled  with 
torment.  In  vain  he  pi'ostrated  himself  alone 
in  the  forest  and  pi-ayed  for  the  blessed  assur- 
ance of  his  pardon.  Finally,  after  a  night  spent 
in  agonizing  prayer,  his  heart  seemed  to  throw 
off  its  burden,  and  he  was  happy.  Returning 
home  and  relating  his  experiences  to  his  brother 
William,  the  latter  replied  with  joy,  "You  are 
converted,  John,  at  last."  He  went  to  the 
house  of  God,  expecting  to  offer  himself  for 
membership,  but  the  weird  experiences  of  others 


118 


MEN  OF  yp:sterday 


sent  him  away  in  sorrow  and  disgust.  His  mind 
was  again  beclouded  by  doubts  and  despair,  and 
he  prayed  the  Lord  to  keep  his  poor  heart  from 
error  and  to  lead  him  by  the  right  way  into  the 
e V  e  r  1  a  s  t  i  n  g  k  i  n  gd  o  m . 

Religious  friends  who  had  watched  with  solic- 
itude the  long  and  painfid  struggle  of  the  young 
man,  believed  that  a  work  of  grace  had  already 
been  wrought  in  his  heart,  and  urged  him  to 
relate  the  facts  before  the  congregation.  This 
he  did  on  the  26th  of  December,  1804,  giving  a 
plain  statement  of  his  religious  struggles,  and 
thougli  his  experience  was  lacking  in  the  mar- 
velous element  which  characterized  the  conver- 
sions of  that  time,  the  congregation  unanimously 
voted  him  the  subject  of  a  work  of  grace.  The 
next  day  he  was  baiitized,  and  at  once  entered 
into  the  active  service  of  his  Master  to  find  in 
doing  the  peace  he  had  failed  to  receive  in 
seeking. 

No  sooner  had  John  Smith  become  an  obe- 
dient disci[)lc  of  Christ,  than  he  was  possessed 
with  a  desire  to  preach  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  his  Word.  But  two  obsta(-les  rose  before 
him,  either  of  which  seemed  an  insurmountable 
barrier  to  the  realization  of  such  a  purpose. 

One  was  his  ignorance.  In  his  single  brief 
term  of  schooling,  he  had  ])arely  learned  to 
read,  and  his  surroundings  and  occupation  had 
left  him  without  further  means  of  self-improve- 


JOHN  SMITH 


119 


raent.  As  he  looked  with  yearning  heart  toward 
the  ministry,  he  "wept  at  the  thought  that  he 
was  now  a  man  without  an  education." 

No  less  serious  was  the  hindrance  which  the 
popular  notion  of  the  time  threw  across  his 
pathway.  It  was  regarded  as  an  almost  unpar- 
donable act  of  presumption  to  stand  before  the 
peoi)le  as  an  expounder  of  the  Scriptures  with- 
out a  supernatural  call,  and  as  yet  he  was  with- 
out evidence  of  such  a  call  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel. No  voice  spoke  to  his  listening  ear.  No 
answer  came  to  his  earnest  prayer.  No  sign  met 
his  expectant  vision. 

In  the  face  of  these  obstacles  the  way  seemed 
completely  blocked,  so  nothing  remained  for  him 
to  do  but  to  continue  in  his  labors  on  the  farm. 
Going  out  further  into  the  wilderness,  he  pur- 
chased a  tract  of  land,  and  began  the  laborious 
task  of  clearing  away  the  forest.  But  one  day 
the  young  man  dropped  his  ax,  abandoned  his 
farm  and  went  back  home.  A  teacher  had 
moved  into  the  valley,  and  John  Smith  deter- 
mined to  take  advantage  of  this  opportunity  for 
enlarging  his  horizon  and  quenching  his  thirst. 
For  a  few  weeks  he  drank  with  delight  from  the 
fountain  of  learning.  Then  the  teacher,  a  wheel- 
wright by  trade,  found  that  making  wheels  was 
more  profitable  than  training  pupils,  and  dis- 
missed his  school.  Undaunted  by  this  turn  of 
affairs,  and  still  fixed  in  his  determination  to  get 


120 


MEN  Ol'  YESTERDAY 


an  education,  John  arranged  to  assist  his  teacher 
in  the  shop  for  his  board  and  the  privilege  of 
using  his  books  at  night.  Thus  he  toiled  during 
the  day,  and  at  night,  by  the  blaze  of  the  pine- 
knot  fire,  he  sat  down  to  his  lessons,  often  wrest- 
ling with  a  difficult  problem  until  the  night  itself 
was  gone. 

At  last  circumstances  compelled  him  to  leave 
this  improvised  college  and  to  return  to  his 
abandoned  farm.  It  was  then  that  the  way  be- 
gan gradually  to  open  toward  the  larger  service 
of  Christ.  His  widely  scattered  neighbors  were 
pious  people,  and,  in  the  absence  of  churches 
and  ministers,  often  gathered  at  night,  after  a 
day  of  toil,  in  each  other's  cabins,  to  sing  and 
pray,  and  talk  about  their  religious  interests. 
At  these  meetings  John  Smith  was  present,  when 
circumstances  would  permit,  and  his  native  tal- 
ent and  education,  in  which  he  now  sm-passed 
his  neighbors,  gave  him  a  kind  of  pre-eminence 
among  them.  As  they  met  from  house  to  house, 
they  often  constrained  him  to  lead  in  prayer. 
In  these  religious  exercises  his  confidence  in- 
creased, his  heart  warmed,  and  he  longed  to 
enter  into  more  active  service.  But  still  he 
waited  for  some  audible  call,  some  sign  like  the 
burning  bush,  which  should  assure  him  of  the 
Lord's  will. 

His  brethren  argued  that  if  the  Lord  had  given 
a  man  talent  it  should  be  used,  and  that  if  he 


JOHN  SMITH 


121 


could  not  conscientiously  preach,  he  might  at 
least,  without  fear  of  Divine  displeasure,  speak 
words  of  exhortation  in  their  humble  meetings. 
This  he  at  last  consented  to  do.  The  appoint- 
ment was  made.  The  cabin  was  crowded.  The 
service  of  song  and  prayer  was  inspiring.  At 
the  proper  time,  John  arose  to  speak,  but  as  he 
looked  .into  the  upturned  faces  of  his  neighbors 
"a  strange,  bewildering  torrent  of  feeling  rushed 
into  his  heart.  His  mind  was  suddenly  dark- 
ened. The  thoughts  v;^hich  he  had  meditated 
for  the  occasion  left  him.  He  tried  to  I'ecall 
th(Mn,  but  he  could  not.  His  lips  quivered  and 
he  was  speechless.  Turning  from  the  stand,  he 
rushed  from  the  house  into  the  darkness  with- 
out. He  fled  across  the  yard  like  one  affrighted, 
intending  to  quit  a  place  where  the  Lord  had 
thus  re])uked  him."  In  his  precipitate  flight  he 
stumbled  over  some  unseen  object  and  fell  to  the 
ground.  As  he  arose  his  mind  cleared,  his 
thoughts  came  back  to  him,  and,  feeling  that  he 
now  had  i)ower  to  deliver  his  message,  he  de- 
teimined  to  return  to  the  house,  where  his 
l)rethren  still  sat  in  mute  amazement.  Standing 
again  in  their  midst,  he  spoke  with  a  fervor  and 
fluency  that  thrilled  his  listeners;  and  from  that 
time  he  continued  in  his  humble  way  to  lead 
those  who  were  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd. 

But  if  as  .yet  he  listened  in  vain  for  a  call 
from  heaven  to  preach,  he  heard  a  voice  in  these 


122  MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


neighborhood  meetings  that  strangely  impressed 
him.  It  Avas  the  voice  of  a  maiden  in  song,  and 
the  impression  made  upon  the  mind  of  the 
young  exhorter,  now  in  his  twenty-second  year, 
was  destined  to  be  histing.  He  sought  her  out 
in  her  home,  and  without  needless  preliminary 
arranged  that  Anna  Townsend  should  become 
his  wife;  and  on  a  stormy  December  day  in 
1806,  he  took  her  to  his  cabin  in  the  forest  to 
share  his  severe  lot  of  privation  and  toil. 

As  he  now  labored  for  the  comfort  and  happi- 
ness of  his  home,  he  continued  to  exercise  his 
gift  of  exhortation,  with  increasing  desii'e  to 
devote  his  life  to  the  work  of  saving  his  fellow- 
men.  In  deference  to  the  judgment  of  his 
brethren,  who  urged  him  to  lay  aside  all  scruples 
and  become  their  preacher,  he  at  last  consented 
to  be  ordained,  and  entered  at  once  upon  the 
duties  of  his  new  calling,  while  continuing  to 
provide  for  his  family  l)y  his  labors  on  the  farm. 
He  now  preached  every  Sunday,  riding  often 
many  miles  to  his  appointments,  and  gathering 
the  people  together  "in  their  scattered  meeting- 
houses, in  their  own  log-cabins,  in  tlieir  still 
humbler  school-houses,  or  in  the  dark,  unbroken 
woods." 

Nature  had  marvelonsly  endowed  him  for  the 
work  of  a  pioneer  preacher.  "His  well-toned 
voice  and  earne.st  manner,  his  fine  common  sense 
and  unaffected  piety,  rendered  him  pre-eminent- 


JOHN  SMITH 


123 


ly  popular  as  a  speaker;  his  genial  luiinor,  too, 
threw  its  sunny  influence  on  all  around  him,  and 
made  him  the  delight  of  every  fireside."  As 
his  reputation  spread,  flattering  offers  came  to 
him  from  the  more  favored  portions  of  Ken- 
tucky, through  which  he  was  induced  to  travel 
on  a  preaching  tour.  Wealthy  congregations, 
pleased  with  his  originality  and  genius,  offered 
him  what  was  then  regarded  as  a  handsome 
salary  to  come  and  labor  among  them.  But  con- 
scious of  his  lack  of  education  and  culture,  he 
declined  these  offers,  while  his  soul,  for  the  time 
lifted  up  with  pride,  planned  aml)itiously  for 
the  future. 

To  John  Smith,  who  had  known  only  poverty 
and  hardship,  now  came  a  dream  of  wealth. 
The  South  at  that  time  presented  a  most  prom- 
ising field.  Large  tracts  of  fertile  land  were 
thrown  open  to  settlers  in  Alabama.  By  the 
sale  of  his  farm  and  stock  he  could  realize  the 
sum  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  With  this  sum 
he  could  enter  ten  thousand  acres  of  land, 
which,  with  advance  in  prices,  was  sure  to  make 
him  a  wealthy  man.  Gathering  his  possessions 
together,  he  set  out  with  his  family  for  Ala- 
bama in  the  autumn  of  1814.  Reaching  his  des- 
tination, he  established  his  family  in  a  cabin, 
while  he  went  out  to  explore  the  surrounding 
country,  with  a  view  to  selecting  and  purchasing 
lands.    During  his  al)sence,  in  one  awful  night, 


124 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


his  hopes  and  happiness  were  dashed  to  the 
ground.  The  cabin  which  contained  his  pos- 
sessions and  his  loved  ones  was  burned  to  the 
ground,  and  two  of  his  children  and  the  money 
with  which  he  had  phmned  to  purchase  a  plan- 
tation were  consumed  in  the  flames.  The  poor 
wife  escaped  only  to  die  of  a  broken  heart  and 
be  l)nried  with  the  ashes  of  her  children. 
Broken  in  spirit,  John  Smith  himself,  though  a 
man  of  strong  will  and  iron  nerve,  was  at  last 
stricken  down  with  fever,  and  for  weeks  life 
seemed  to  hang  in  the  balance,  when  the  change 
came  and  he  recovered  sufficiently  to  retrace  his 
sorrowful  steps,  empty-handed  and  alone,  to  the 
valley  among  the  hills  of  Kentucky,  from  which 
he  had  moved  a  few  months  before,  with  wife 
and  children  and  substance,  proudly  expectant 
of  earthly  fortune. 

in.     WRKSTLIMl  U'[Tn  DDi'TiaXAI.  DIFFlcrLTIKS. 

The  severe  trials  through  which  John  Smith 
had  passed  soon  began  to  exert  a  modifying  in- 
fluence on  his  religious  views.  As  he  reflected 
over  his  recent  experiences,  his  aching  heart  re- 
volted from  the  unyielding  and  unfeeling  articles 
of  his  Calvinistic  creed,  especially  that  portion 
embodying  the  doctrine  of  unconditional  election 
and  reprobation.  "My  children,"  he  argued, 
speaking  of  the  little  ones  who  had  been  sud- 


JOHN  SMITH 


125 


denly  snatched  from  his  bosom,  "are  happy,  for 
they  were  innocent." 

Immediately  after  his  return  to  Kentucky  he 
began  preaching  again;  hut  he  was  from  that 
time  harassed  by  doctrinal  difficulties  which  gave 
him  no  rest  until  he  turned  from  his  creed  to  the 
New  Testament,  and  discovered  and  accepted 
the  Gospel  in  its  primitive  simplicity.  But  not- 
withstanding the  (l()ul)ts  that  clouded  his  mind, 
and  the  sorrow  that  overshadowed  his  life,  his 
preaching,  for  a  time,  was  with  a  power  that  won 
all  hearts.  His  personal  appearance  at  this  time 
was  in  no  sense  suggestive  of  the  wonderful 
charm  of  his  evangel. 

His  appearance,  as  he  joined  his  brethren  in 
the  meeting  of  the  Baptist  Association  at  Crab 
Orcliaid.  -liortly  after  his  return,  is  thus  de- 
scribed: "He  wore  a  pair  of  home-spun  cotton 
pantaloons,  stripcil  with  coi)peras,  loose  enough, 
but  far  too  short  for  him,  and  a  cotton  coat, 
once  checked  with  blue  and  white  but  now  of 
undistinguishable  colors.  His  shapeless  hat  was 
streaked  with  sweat  and  dust.  His  socks,  too 
large  for  his  shrunken  ankles,  hung  down  upon 
his  foxy  shoes.  His  shirt  was  coarse  and  dirty 
and  unbottoned  at  the  neck."  But  if  the  ex- 
terior of  this  chosen  vessel  of  God  was  not  invit- 
ing, within  it  was  garnished  and  adorned  with  all 
the  graces  of  truth.  As  on  the  occasion  above 
described  he  arose  on  an  improvised  stand  under 


126 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


the  trees  to  speak  upon  the  theme  of  redemp- 
tion, which  was  always  near  his  heart,  he  gave 
utterance  to  a  message  whose  beauty  and  power 
tilled  liis  hearers  with  amazement.  As  the  vast 
assembly  drew  near  that  they  might  catch  his 
words,  "many  who  could  not  tind  seats  or  places 
to  stand  climbed  the  trees  close  by,  and  the  very 
saplings  swayed  with  people  eager  to  see  and 
hear.  When  the  speaker  reached  the  third  and 
last  division  of  his  subject  and  began  to  paint 
the  final  glory  of  God's  elect,  the  multitude 
arose  and  stood  on  their  feet;  and  when  he 
closed  his  impassionate  exhortation  every  eye 
was  weeping  and  every  heart  and  lip  blessed  the 
man  without  an  education." 

In  the  course  of  time  John  Smith  again  mar.- 
ried,  choosing  as  a  companion  a  sensil)le  and 
consecrated  woman  wlio  lived  in  the  neighbor- 
hood where  he  ministered,  and  who  cheerfully 
joined  him  in  all  his  plans  for  the  reformation  of 
hunum  society. 

Though  as  yet  preaching  the  doctrines  of  his 
creed,  he  now  found  himself  ill  at  ease.  The 
strange  inconsistency  of  his  position  embarrassed 
him.  ,  Why  urge  sinners  to  repent  and  believe 
the  Gospel,  when  if  elected  they  were  already 
safe,  and  if  among  the  non-elect  they  could  not 
repent.  As  the  situation  flashed  upon  his  mind 
in  the  midst  of  an  impassioned  exhortation,  he 
immediately  closed  his  remarks  and  sat  down, 


JOHN  vSMlTH 


127 


saying:  "BretlirtMi,  something  is  wrong.  I  ;un 
in  the  dark.  We  arc  all  in  the  dark;  but  how  to 
lead  you  to  the  light  or  tind  the  way  myself,  be- 
fore God  I  know  not."  Retiring  to  his  humble 
home,  he  went  to  God  for  guidance,  pledging 
himself  on  his  knees  in  prayer  that  he  would 
take  the  Scriptures  as  his  only  guide,  and  study 
God's  Holy  Word  until  the  way  was  made  ])lain. 

In  the  keeping  of  this  pledge  he  began  anew 
the  study  of  the  Bible.  When  his  day's  work  in 
the  field  was  done,  he  would  sit  by  his  candle 
with  his  Testament  upon  Iiis  knee,  and  often 
spend  the  whole  night  in  solemn  meditation  in 
his  seai-ch  for  the  light. 

It  was  while  in  this  state  of  mind  that  the 
prospectus  of  a  new  religious  journal,  to  be 
called  "The  Christian  Baptist,"  was  placed  in 
his  hand.  The  bold  and  independent  course 
proposed  by  its  editor,  Alexander  Campbell, 
struck  a  sympathetic  chord  in  the  heart  of  this 
storm-tossed  truth-seeker,  and  he  determined  to 
-find  out  what  this,  then  unknown,  reformer  had 
to  say  upon  the  questions  that  were  disturbing 
his  peace.  Subscribing  for  the  "Christian  Bap- 
tist," the  first  numbers  were  read  with  great  in- 
terest, and  through  them  light  began  to  break 
along  his  darkened  pathway.  Mr.  Smith  read 
each  succeeding  number  with  great  care  to  dis- 
cover to  which  of  the  contending  religious  par- 
ties its  editor  belonged,  and  soon  found  himself 


128 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


in  a  realm  of  truth  entirely  beyond  the  range  of 
the  popular  systems. 

"We  have  no  system  of  our  own,"  wrote  the 
editor  of  the  "Christian  Baptist,"  "nor  of  oth- 
ers to  substitute  in  lieu  of  the  reigning  systems. 
We  only  aim  at  substituting  the  New  Testament 
in  lieu  of  every  creed  in  existence;  whether  Mo- 
hammedan, Pagan,  Jewish  or  Presbyterian,  We 
wish  to  call  Christians  to  consider  that  Jesus 
Christ  has  made  them  kings  and  priests  to  God. 
We  neither  advocate  Calvinism,  Arminianism, 
Arianism,  Trinitarianism,  Unitarianism,  Deism 
or  Sectarianism,  but  -Neiv  Testamentism.  We 
wish,  we  cordially  wish,  to  take  the  New  Testa- 
ment out  of  the  abuses  of  the  clergy,  and  put  it 
into  the  hands  of  the  people." 

So  thoroughly  did  these  views  accord  with 
John  Smith's  notions  that  lie  determined  at  the 
first  opportunity  to  meet  with  Alexander  Camp- 
bell and  learn  from  him  direct  more  of  the  new 
order  which  he  was  inaugurating.  In  the  spring 
of  1824  the  opportunity  presented  itself.  Mr. 
Campbell,  on  one  of  his  tours  through  Kentucky, 
was  to  speak  in  a  neighboring  county,  and  Mr. 
Smith  ,  rode  twenty  miles  on  horseback  that  he 
might  see  and  hear  him.  Of  this  meeting  with 
Mr.  Campbell,  he  afterwards  said,  "I  then  felt 
as  if  I  wanted  to  sit  down  and  look  at  him  for 
one  hour,  without  hearing  a  word  from  any  one. 
I  wanted  to  scan  him  who  had  been  so  much 


JOHN  SMITH 


129 


talked  of,  and  who  had  in  the  'Christian  Baptist' 
and  in  his  debates,  introduced  so  many  new 
thoughts." 

For  several  days  John  Smith  followed  Mr. 
Campbell  from  appointment  to  appointment,  an 
inwrapped  listener  to  his  public  discourses,  and 
earnestly  engaging  him  in  conversation  as  they 
traveled  along  the  way  or  sat  under  some  hos- 
pitable roof.  At  last  his  mind  cast  off  its  fet- 
ters. The  way,  hitherto  so  clouded,  became 
plain,  and  he  left  the  company  of  the  great  re- 
former, resolved  henceforth  to  devote  his  life  to 
preaching  the  simple  Gospel  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

The  step  was,  as  he  had  anticipated,  attended 
with  great  sacrifices.  Old  friends  forsook  him. 
He  had  always  stood  high  among  his  ministerial 
brethren,  but  now  he  was  regarded  with  undis- 
guised suspicion.  Soon  the  storm  gathered 
wrathfully  about  him.  At  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  association  in  w^hich  he  held  membership 
charges  were  preferred  against  him,  among  the 
most  serious  of  which  was  that,  instead  of  the 
King  James  translation  of  the  Scriptures,  "he 
had  on  two  or  three  occasions  in  public,  and 
often  privately  in  his  family,  read  from  Alexan- 
der Campbell's  translation."  Without  being 
given  an  opportunity  to  defend  himself,  he  was 
placed  under  censure,  and  given  a  year  in  which 

to  correct  his  views  and  change  his  ways. 
9 


130 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


Returning  to  lii.s  home,  the  way  for  a  time 
seemed  to  clo^^e  l)efore  him.  The  little  farm  was 
covered  with  a  heavy  mortgage.  The  churches 
that  had  obligated  themselves  to  pay  his  debt  in 
compensation  of  his  services,  now  refused  to 
make  further  payment.  Nothing  apparently  re- 
mained hut  for  him  to  cultivate  his  farm  with  his 
own  hands,  and  for  a  time  to  abandon  the  work 
of  the  ministiy.  Taking  his  ax  he  went  into  the 
woods  with,  the  heroic  purpose  first  to  free  him- 
self from  debt,  and  then  to  return  to  the  defense 
of  the  faith  which  he  now  felt  to  be  the  teaching 
of  the  Word  of  God.  But  one  day,  reflecting 
upon  the  construction  that  would  be  put  on  his 
silence  by  his  enemies,  he  dropped  his  ax,  went 
to  the  house,  and  threw  down  his  coarse  apron 
at  the  feet  of  his  wife,  exclaiming:  "Nancy,  I 
shall  work  no  more!  Set  whom  you  please  to 
cai'ry  on  the  farm,  but  do  not  call  on  me!  In  all 
the  land,  there  is  not  one  soul  to  open  his  mouth 
in  defense  of  the  best  cause  under  the  sun!  I 
am  determined  from  this  time  forth  to  preach 
the  Gospel  and  leave  the  consequences  with 
God." 

With  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  John 
Smith  immediately  began  to  preach  the  truth  as 
he  now  saw  it  and  felt  it.  No  personal  consid- 
eration was  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  pro- 
gram he  had  marked  out  for  himself.  His  heroic 
wife  readily  caught  his  spirit,  and  agreed  to 


'  JOHN  SMITH  131 

cariT  on  the  farm  that  he  might  devote  himself 
wholly  to  the  preaching  of  the  Word. 

But  from  a  course  so  radical  and  perilous  his 
friends  earnestly  sought  to  dissuade  him.  "Your 
more  influential  brethren,"  they  argued,  "will 
abandon  you;  yon  will  get  nothing  for  your 
preaching;  your  debts  will  press  you  to  the 
earth,  and  your  farm  and  home  must  eventually 
be  given  up."  Their  appeal  was  in  vain.  They 
had  under-estimated  the  faith  and  courage  of  the 
man. 

"Conscience,"  Smith  replied,  "is  an  article 
that  I  have  never  yet  brought  into  market;  but 
if  I  should  offer  it  for  sale,  Montgomery  County, 
with  all  its  lands  and  houses,  would  not  be 
enough  to  buy  it,  much  less  that  farm  of  one 
hundred  acres." 

As  John  Smith  now  went  from  house  to  house, 
and  neighborhood  to  neighborhood,  to  plead  the 
cause  of  Christ  and  the  "Ancient  Gospel,"  his 
zeal  knew  no  bounds.  His  heart  was  all  aglow 
with  his  new-born  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and 
with  tireless  effort  he  sought  to  win  men  to 
respect  and  obey  the  simple  claims  of  the  in- 
spired Word.  So  intense  was  his  desire  that  he 
scarcely  allowed  himself  time  for  food  and  sleep. 
After  a  busy  day,  he  would  often  spend  a  greater 
part  of  the  night  in  answering  questions  or  meet- 
ing objections  which  his  public  discourses  had 
provoked;  or  in  helping  some  half-persuaded 


132 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


inquirer  to  a  full  acceptance  of  the  Gospel; 
often  going  the  same  hour  of  the  night  to  some 
neighboring  stream  to  administer  baptism,  when 
a  surrender  had  been  made.  Or  if  at  home,  the 
burden  that  was  upon  his  heart  and  his  thirst  for 
the  knowlege  of  the  Scriptures  would  often  in- 
terfere with  his  sleep,  and  he  would  arise  and 
light  his  candle  at  midnight  "to  examine  some 
word  or  text  not  yet  understood,"  and  which 
perhaps  had  confused  him  in  his  dreams. 

IV.    THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

The  preaching  of  Jolm  Smith,  so  different 
from  that  of  the  times,  so  fur  removed  from  con-" 
ventional  forms,  and  so  new  and  strange  in  doc- 
trine, at  once  awakened  new  interest  in  languish- 
ing churches.  Calls  now  came  to  him  from  so 
manj-  quarters  that  he  seldom  had  an  opportu- 
nity to  enjoy  the  fellowship  of  the  family  to 
which  he  was  warmly  attached.  He  endeavored, 
if  possible,  to  look  in  upon  the  home  once  a 
week;  but  this  purpose  he  was  not  always  able 
to  carry  out.  "He  would  tarry  at  some  distant 
place,  preaching  and  baptizing  till  the  week  Avas 
nearly  gone,  and  then,  dismissing  the  people  at  a 
late  hour,  ride  hurriedly  thi-ough  darkness,  some- 
times through  mud  and  cold  and  tempest,  in 
order  to  keep  his  promise  with  his  wife.  At 
other  times,  when  going  from  one  part  of  the 
district  to  another,  he  would  pass  along  by  his 


JOHN  SMITH 


133 


own  house,  but  too  much  hurried  to  stop  and 
rest,  would  linger  awhile  at  the  gate,  and  gather- 
ing strength  from  her  words  of  cheer,  press  on 
to  his  distant  appointment." 

It  is  I'elated  that  on  one  occasion,  as  he  thus 
hurried  from  one  appointment  to  another,  he 
stopped  at  home  just  long  enough  to  change  his 
soiled  linen  for  clean.  As  he  was  about  to  leave, 
his  wife  remarked,  with  a  gentle  rebuke  in  her 
tone,  "Mr.  Smith,  is  it  not  time  you  were  having 
your  washing  done  somewhere  else?  We  have 
attended  to  it  for  you  a  long  time." 

The  patient  heroism  of  faith  finds  few  better 
illustrations  than  in  the  wife  of  this  tireless  pio- 
neer. Upon  Nancy  Smith  rested  the  burden  of 
the  family  and  the  farm.  When  help  could  not 
be  secured,  she  would  go  forth  herself  into  the 
busy  field  to  tend  the  growing  crops,  or  to  super- 
intend the  gathering  of  the  harvest,  that  her 
faithful  husband  might  devote  all  his  energies  to 
the  cause  which  they  both  loved  so  much.  His 
preaching  brought  no  material  recompense  to 
relieve  their  pinching  povei'ty.  Though  he 
labored  incessantly  for  the  salvation  of  his  fel- 
lowmen,  nobody  ever  thought  of  contributing  to 
his  support,  or  if  they  felt  inclined  to  minister 
to  him  in  temporal  things,  were  probably  too 
poor.  During  the  five  years,  from  1825  to  1830, 
in  which  he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  cause  of 
the  Eeforination  in  Kentucky,  he  never  received 


134 


MEN  OF  yestf:rday 


a  dollar  for  his  services,  or  compensation  of  any 
kind,  save  the  remittance  of  his  debt  ton  friendly 
merchant  in  a  neighboring  town  for  a  small  bill 
of  goods. 

The  result  of  such  zeal,  such  labor,  such  sacri- 
fice, brought  its  reward  to  this  devoted  messen- 
ger of  truth  in  a  richer  blessing  than  any  that 
material  prosperity  had  to  offer.  His  message 
was  gladly  received.  Multitudes  gathered  to 
hear  him,  and  many  received  with  gladness  the 
simple  Gospel  which  he  now  felt  himself  com- 
missioned to  preach.  A  revival  of  religious  in- 
terest began  to  follow  the  track  of  his  itineracy, 
and  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  hundreds, 
who  had  held  aloof  from  the  religious  systems  of 
the  day,  now  turn  to  the  Lord.  As  he  returned 
from  such  fields  of  victory  he  was  sometimes 
lifted  above  earthly  concerns,  and  would  walk 
the  floor  of  his  humble  home  and  sing  with 
strange  enthusiasm : 

"O,  tell  me  no  more  of  this  world's  vain  store; 
The  time  for  such  trifles  with  me  now  is  o'er." 

So  fruitful  were  his  labors  that  within  a  period 
of  six  months  he  was  able  to  report  seven  hun- 
dred conversions  and  five  new  churches  organ- 
ized. But  more  still,  he  had  established  a  great 
cause  in  the  hearts  of  the  people. 

A  course  so  out  of  the  usual  order,  so  original 
in  message  and  method,  was  sure  to  offend  the 
accepted  leaders  of  religious  society,  and  these, 


JOHN  S:\IITH 


135 


without  respect  of  party  affiliation,  were  soon 
arrayed  against  him. 

Although  he  had  renounced  the  Calvinistic 
theory  of  conversion,  and  had  laid  aside  its  un- 
yielding creed  for  the  New  Testament,  he  still 
considered  himself  a  Baptist,  and  lived  in  fellow- 
ship with  those  who  "stood  resolutely  by  the  old 
church  covenants,"  hoping  that  his  brethren 
would  one  day  accept  the  ancient  Gospel.  But 
his  genial,  fraternal  spirit  was  far  from  being 
reciprocated  by  the  Baptist  ministers  with  whom 
he  associated. 

Once,  meeting  an  old  acquaintance.  Smith  said 
to  him  kindly,  "Good  morning,  my  brother;" 
to  which  the  other  scornfully  replied,  "Don't 
call  me  brother,  sir!  I  would  rather  claim  kin- 
ship with  the  devil  himself."  "Go,  then,"  said 
Smith,  "and  honor  thy  father." 

But  the  bitterness  of  opposition  did  not  always 
end  in  harmless  railery.  It  too  frequently  re- 
sorted to  misrepresentation  and  other  unchris- 
tian means  to  check  his  growing  popularity  and 
influence.  Churches  were  closed  against  him, 
compelling  him  to  take  his  audience  to  some 
neighboring  house,  or  hall,  or,  in  fair  weather,  to 
some  friendly  grove.  But,  whatever  the  dis- 
couragement or  hindrance,  he  continued  to 
preach.  Usually  he  laid  off  his  "discourses, 
which  were  two  or  three  hours  long,  into  three 
divisions,  according  to  the  objects  he  had  in 


136 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


view:  in  the  i\v>t  he  corrected  misrepresenta- 
tions; in  the  second  he  exposed  pop uhir  errors ; 
and  in  the  third  he  presented  the  simple  Gospel 
to  the  people."  Having  taken  his  stand  upon 
the  Bible,  he  felt  himself  secure.  The  truth 
made  him  fearless,  and  his  courage  at  last  won 
respect  for  the  unpopular  position  to  which  he 
held. 

The  years  1829  and  1830  were  great  years  in 
the  ministry  of  John  Smith.  In  them  was  wit- 
nessed the  fruition  of  years  of  self-sacrificing 
labor,  and  tlie  triumph  of  the  ancient  Gospel  on 
the  soil  of  Kentucky. 

Few  have  been  the  heroes  of  the  cross  in  mod- 
ern times  whose  lives  were  more  completely 
given  to  the  cause  of  human  redemption.  He 
forgot  everything  in  his  passion  for  souls  and  a 
pure  Gospel.  He  literally  sowed  in  tears,  and 
what  wonder  that  his  heart  was  filled  with  re- 
joicing as  he  witnessed  the  maturing  of  a  har- 
vest that  far  surpassed  his  fondest  hopes. 

Only  once,  as  the  storm  of  religious  conflict 
thickened  about  him,  did  he  seem  to  waver.  It 
was  near  the  close  of  1829,  and  just  before  the 
final  crisis  which  set  the  reformers  adrift  as  an 
independent  communion.  He  had  grown  weary 
of  the  continual  strife  about  him,  and  still 
groaned  under  the  burden  of  debt  that  rested 
upon  his  little  home.  His  ministry  had  been 
without  money  and  without  price,  and  the  com- 


JOHN  SMITH 


137 


munities  in  which  he  labored  had  l)een  willing  to 
accept  his  services  on  his  own  terms.  But  he 
now  determined  to  do  something  for  the  greater 
comfort  of  his  family,  and  went  home  that  he 
might  devote  the  ensuing  year  to  the  cultivation 
of  his  farm.  His  heroic  wife  heard  his  plans, 
but  refused  to  accede  to  them.  She  assured  him 
of  her  willingness  to  continue  the  management 
of  the  farm,  while  he  continued  to  cultivate  the 
field  in  which  the  Lord  was  so  wonderfully  bless- 
ing his  labors.  At  the  s;:me  time  his  chief  cred- 
itor came  to  him  and  said,  "Go  on  and  preach 
as  you  have  been  doing,  and  never  mind  that 
note." 

These  encouragements  fixed  his  purpose.  He 
would  continue  in  his  tireless  defense  of  the 
cause  of  the  Reformation  until  it  was  firmly 
established  throughout  Kentucky.  He  saw  be- 
fore him  a  tierce  conflict,  and  now  aroused  him- 
self anew  to  the  work  of  wresting  the  association 
in  which  he  had  previously  labored  from  the 
dominion  of  sectarian  teachers. 

The  spirit  of  sectarian  zeal  and  hate  was  never 
more  bitterly  manifested  than  during  these  two 
years.  The  visits  of  the  "Christian  Baptist" 
and  the  fearless  preaching  of  John  Smith  had 
already  created  a  profound  impression  through- 
out Kentucky.  Many  there  were  who  hailed 
with  delight  the  new  order  of  things.  The  ranks 
of  its  advocates  were  strengthened  by  some  of 


138 


MEN  OF  YEvSTERDAY 


the  most  able  preachers  of  Kentucky,  among 
whom  were  Jacob  Creath,  Sr.,  and  Jacob  Creath, 
Jr.,  scarcely  second  to  John  Smith  in  ability  and 
influence. 

But  the  success  of  tliis  new  evangel  only  in- 
tensified the  hate  of  the  opposition.  ISIo  longer 
satisfied  with  misrepresentation,  and  with  clos- 
ing the  doors  of  their  churches  against  him,  the 
leaders  of  Baptist  society  began  to  formulate 
measures  for  the  forcible  expulsion  of  all  who 
gave  heed  to  Mr.  Smith's  plea  for  a  restored 
church.  As  this  purpose  of  the  opposition 
spread  from  church  to  church  and  association  to 
association,  the  fearless  champion  of  reform 
threw  himself  into  the  breach,  and  with  his  rug- 
ged eloquence  sought  to  stay  any  attempt  at  dis- 
ruption, and  to  preserve  the  peace  and  order  of 
religious  society. 

As  the  heat  of  this  controversy  grew  intense, 
the  genial  spirit  and  good-fellowship  of  John 
Smith  were  only  the  more  manifest.  In  the 
excitement  of  the  times  he  alone  was  calm. 
Amidst  the  cloud  of  angry  faces  that  often  de- 
nied him  a  hearing,  his  countenance  alone  was 
lit  up  with  a  friendly  smile.  When  the  church 
doors  were  locked  against  him  by  some  un- 
friendly hand,  he  would  speak  to  those  who 
gathered  to  hear  him  on  such  occasions  in  the 
woods,  refusing  to  sanction  any  act  of  violence 
by  which  admittance  might  be  gained. 


JOHN  SMITH 


139 


Though  from  this  time  iti  the  thickest  of  the 
fight,  he  was  a  man  of  peace:  and  while  others 
"gnashed  on  him  with  their  teeth,"  lie  only 
replied  in  pleasantries. 

The  principles  for  which  he  now  contended 
were  the  right  of  free  speech  and  private  judg- 
ment. As  railing  accusations  were  brought 
against  him  and  those  who  shared  his  views,  he 
would  usually  seek  the  opportunity  of  replying, 
but  was  invariably  refused  the  simple  privilege 
claimed.  The  following  scene  is  a  characteristic 
one : 

At  a  council  of  the  Baptist  churches  at  Goshen 
he  arose  to  correct  a  brother  who  had  attempted 
to  report  his  views  on  a  certain  subject,  but  he 
was  no  sooner  on  his  feet  than  "they  cried  out 
from  one  end  of  the  house  to  the  other,  "Don't 
let  him  speak,  Brother  Moderator!'  'Put  him 
down!  Put  him  down!'  lie  turned  and  looked 
on  them  for  some  time,  Avith  a  face  that  calmly 
brightened  as  their  frowns  grew  dark.  "When 
their  noisy  protestations  were  over  he  said,  'Will 
you  not  let  me  tell  the  brother  what  I  said?' 

"'Put  him  down!'  was  everywhere  repeated, 
and  their  cries  became  louder  each  moment,  for 
he  stood  there  and  patiently  smiled  at  their 
clamor.  The  ^Moderator  for  awhile  utterly  failed 
in  his  attempts  to  enforce  decorum,  but  a  happy 
expedient  at  last  occurred  to  him,  and  he  made 
one  more  attempt  to  quiet  the  tumult.  Calling 


140 


MEN  OF  vp:steri)av 


the  boisterous  messengers  to  order  in  a  loud 
voice,  he  said : 

"  "I  decide  that  Brother  Smith  ought  to  be 
aUowed  to  explain  himself,  but  he  must  do  so  in 
a  whisper  to  the  brother,  who  will  then  report  it 
to  the  council.'  " 

Accepting  the  privilege  now  granted  to  him, 
Mr.  Smith  whispered  his  explanation  so  loud 
that  not  only  the  brother  for  whom  it  was  in- 
tended, but  the  entire  congregation  distinctly 
heard,  much  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  hostile 
leaders. 

For  the  right  of  private  judgment  he  con- 
tended with  equal  earnestness.  With  character- 
istic magnanimity,  he  was  willing  that  others 
should  enjoy  the  privilege  that  he  claimed  for 
himself.  He  saw  in  the  extreme  Calvinism  of 
some  of  his  brethren  no  reason  why  he  should 
cease  to  affiliate  with  them.  He  was  willing  to 
live  in  communion  with  all  who  were  willing  to 
accept  and  obey  the  Savior,  even  though  they 
differed  widely  in  matters  of  opinion.  His  lan- 
guage to  them  was,  ."Although  we  cannot  con- 
sent to  be  bound  by  customs  which  the  Word  of 
God  does  not  enjoin,  yet  we  desire  to  live  with 
those  who  differ  from  us,  provided  they  will 
allow  us  the  privilege  which  we  accord  them,  of 
thinking  and  acting  for  ourselves."  But  upon 
this  ground  he  was  not  permitted  to  live  in  the 
enjoyment  of  the  peace  he  craved,  for  the  "zeal- 


JOHN  SMITH 


141 


ous  intolerance  of  the  clergj-  regarded  every  dis- 
senting view  as  heretical,  condemned  reform  as 
innovation,  and  stigmatized  freedom  of  thought 
and  action  as  downright  heresy." 

The  effort  of  John  Smith,  therefore,  to  main- 
tain the  unity  of  the  Baptist  Church  on  the  broad 
platform  which  he  had  framed  for  himself,  was 
soon  found  unavailing.  The  unyielding  policy  of 
those  who  were  antagonistic  to  the  principles  of 
the  Reformation,  was  to  deny  fellowship  to  those 
who  joined  in  the  search  for  a  more  excellent 
way.  "Seek  first  to  reclaim  these  reformers 
from  their  erroi's,"  was  the  method  now  sug- 
gested. "If  your  efforts  should  fail,  invite  them 
to  leave  you,  and  to  practice  their  reformation  to 
theme-elves.  If  they  will  not  go  at  your  request, 
separate  them  from  you  in  the  best  way  you 
can." 

The  fire  thus  kindled  spread  from  association 
to  association.  The  first  to  yield  to  the  schis- 
matic spirit  was  the  North  District  Association, 
where  the  principles  advocated  by  Mr.  Smith 
were  all  but  universal.  The  remnant  of  eight 
churches  out  of  the  twenty-six  comprising  the 
association  withdrew,  organized  themselves  into 
the  Baptist  Association  and  excluded  tiie  other 
eighteen.  The  other  associations  of  the  Bap- 
tists resorted  to  the  same  expediency,  and  so 
complete  had  been  the  work  that  by  the  autumn 
of  1830  there  were  two  distinct  religious  com- 


142 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


munioiis  where  there  had  formerly  been  one. 
But  .such  liad  been  the  eflBciency  of  John  Smith's 
labors  that  the  Christian  Church  emerged  from 
the  smoke  of  religious  strife  a  strong  and  influ- 
ential body. 

V.    THE  CLOSING  LABORS  OF  THE  REFORMER. 

We  have  now  traced  the  career  of  John  Smith 
to  the  point  of  its  greatest  victory.  From  this 
point  onward  to  the  close  of  his  more  than  four- 
score years,  he  was  not  less  ardently  attached  to 
the  cause  for  which  he  had  so  earnestly  con- 
tended, but  his  lot  fell  in  more  pleasant  places 
and  more  peaceful  labors. 

The  separation  of  Baptists  and  Disciples  found 
him  the  recognized  leader  of  the  new  religious 
society  in  Kentucky.  Henceforth  his  whole 
energy  and  strength  were  consumed  in  setting  in 
order  the  things  lacking  and  strengthening  the 
faith  of  the  brethren.  At  this  time  the  Reform- 
ers were  about  eight  thousand  strong  in  the  State 
and  represented  l)y  an  intelligent,  pious  member- 
ship. During  the  winter  and  spring  Qf  1831  he 
gave  himself  unreservedly  to  the  rejected  churches 
of  the  old  Noi  th  District  Association,  organizing 
them  after  the  New  Testament  model,  and  press- 
ing the  claims  of  the  primitive  Gospel  to  larger 
conquest. 

While  thus  engaged,  a  yearning  seized  his  heart 
to  go  back  to  his  childhood  home,  which  he  had 


JOHN  SMITH 


143 


not  seen  in  man\-  years,  and  to  preach  to  his 
relatives  and  old  neighbors  the  things  which  he 
had  come  to  regard  essential  to  the  larger  vic- 
tory of  the  Gospel.  The  home-coming  proved  a 
painful  one.  A  rumor  that  he  had  renounced 
the  old  faith  and  become  the  victim  of  "a  ruin- 
ous delusion"  had  preceded  him.  Instead  of  the 
friendly  greetings  he  anticipated,  he  was  met  by 
those  whom  he  had  once  regarded  as  friends 
with  coldness  and  aversion.  As  he  continued  his 
painful  journey,  he  now  dreaded  most  the  meet- 
ing with  his  aged  mother,  who  still  clung  to  the 
old,  hard  Calvinism  of  her  early  creed.  "I  felt," 
said  he,  "that  I  would  rather  meet  in  fierce  de- 
bate a  ten-acre  field  of  men  than  that  dear  old 
motber,  whose  heart  I  had  so  deeply  distressed 
by  a  course  that  she  could  not  be  made  to  under- 
stand or  excuse."  But  sad  as  that  meeting  was, 
the  mother-heart  was  able  to  overlook  what  oth- 
ers could  not  forgive,  and  he  left  her  comforted, 
but  secure  in  her  old  faith. 

The  most  conspicuous  and  happy  service  of 
John  Smith  in  the  years  which  followed  was  that 
which  culminated  in  the  union  of  the  followers 
of  Alexander  Campbell  and  Barton  W.  Stone,  or 
as  they  were  then  called.  Reformers  and  Chris- 
tians. Up  to  the  time  of  the  expulsion  of  the 
former  from  Baptist  fellowship  these  two  reform 
movements  had  looked  upon  each  other  with 
anything  but  friendly  regard.    While  each  had 


144 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


set  out  toward  the  same  goal,  prompted  by  the 
.same  motives,  and  professing  allegiance  to  the 
same  standard,  they  at  first  failed  to  recognize 
the  integrity  of  each  other's  efforts.  The  differ- 
ence between  them  was  thus  stated  by  their  re- 
spective leaders.  Mr.  Stone  presented  tLe 
"Bible  as  the  only  ciccd,  and  Christian  as  the 
only  name"  upon  wiiicli  united  Ciiristendom 
could  stand.  ^Ir.  Caui[il)ell  urged  "belief  with 
all  tiie  heart  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God,  and  obedience  to  his  authority  in  the  ordi- 
nance of  bai)tism"  as  the  only  Scriptural  })re- 
requisites  to  mendjership  in  any  Christian  con- 
gregation. 

xVfter  much  friendly  discussion  between  the 
great  leaders  of  the  two  movements,  it  was 
decided  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  rei)resentative 
men  of  the  two  brotherhoods  at  Georgetown, 
Kentucky,  to  seek  a  way,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  to  unity.  It  was  decided  to  hold  a  four 
days'  union  meeting,  embracing  Christmas  day 
of  1831,  and,  on  New  Year's  day  following,  a 
similar  meeting  was  to  be  held  at  Lexington, 
lu  the  preparation  for  these  important  efforts, 
John  Smith  resolved  to  devote  wliat  time  he 
could  spare  from  the  needs  of  his  family  to  the 
labor  of  conciliation  and  union. 

At  the  time  appointed  for  the  final  conference 
at  Lexington,  Smith  and  Stone  were  selected 
to  address  the  assembly  and  set  forth  the  Scrip- 


JOHN  SMITH 


145 


tural  ground  of  union  among  Christ's  people. 
On  this  occasion  John  Smith  gave  voice  to  the 
conviction  of  the  mingling  brotherhoods,  as  he 
closed  his  discourse  with  these  words:  "For 
several  years  past  I  have  stood  jjledged  to  meet 
the  religious  world,  or  any  part  of  it,  on  the 
ancient  Gospel  and  order  of  things,  as  presented 
in  the  words  of  the  Book.  This  is  the  founda- 
tion on  which  Christians  once  stood,  and  on  it 
they  can,  and  ought  to,  stand  again.  From  this 
I  can  not  depart  to  meet  any  man,  or  set  of  men, 
in  the  wide  world.  While  for  the  sake  of  peace 
and  Christian  union,  I  have  long  since  waived 
the  public  maintenance  of  any  speculation  I  may 
hold,  yet  not  one  Gospel  fact,  commandment  or 
promise,  will  I  surrender  for  the  world." 

In  much  the  same  spirit  Barton  W.  Stone  fol- 
lowed with  an  address  on  the  importance  of  giv- 
ing to  the  world  a  demonstration  of  the  union 
which  would  follow  the  abandonment  of  creeds, 
as  instruments  of  division,  and  in  conclusion 
offered  his  hand  to  Mr.  Smith,  who  grasped  it 
in  a  rapturous  spirit  of  brotherly  love,  and  the 
union  was  virtually  accomplished.  Together 
they  novv^  broke  the  commemorative  loaf,  and 
with  a  pledge  to  brotherly  love  the  assembly  dis- 
persed. 

The  part  which  Mr.  Smith  had  taken  in  pro- 
moting the  cause  of  union  soon  brought  him 

into  conflict  with  the  illiberal  spirit  still  to  be 
10 


146 


MEN  OF  V1<:.STKRDAY 


found  here  and  there  among  those  who  had  pro- 
fessed to  cast  aside  their  creeds.  He  was  ac- 
cused of  surrendering  the  essential  elements  of 
faith  for  which  they  had  so  heroically  contended 
in  the  past,  and  of  having  "injured,  if  not 
ruined,  the  cause,  and  wounded,  beyond  expres- 
sion, the  brethren  that  so  much  loved  him."  It 
was  with  a  heavy  heart  that  he  now  set  out  to 
meet  these  objections,  traveling,  as  he  had  forr 
merly  done,  far  and  wide,  and  by  his  broad 
Christian  spirit  and  his  irresistible  power  of 
address  leading  the  churches,  as  he  went,  cor- 
dially with  him  into  the  union. 

From  this  time  on,  Mr.  Smith's  energies  wei*e 
consumed  in  enlarging  the  borders  of  Zion. 
Few  men  among  us  have  surpassed  him  in  the 
work  of  winning  souls.  Wherever  he  went 
multitudes  thronged  to  hear  him,  and  large  num- 
bers became  obedient  to  the  faith.  But  if  the 
friends  of  the  simple  Gospel  message  rejoiced 
in  its  spiritual  triumphs,  the  enemies  of  the 
truth,  as  he  saw  it,  had  reason  to  dread  him.  As 
in  the  early  days  he  attacked  the  strongholds  of 
sectarianism,  so  now,  with  his  keen  wit  and 
homely  logic,  he  put  to  flight  the  champions  of 
Universalism,  Spiritualism  and  other  modern 
phases  of  unbelief,  in  repeated  encounters,  at 
the  same  time  greatly  strengthening  the  faith 
of  the  churches. 

As  age  came  on  and  his  children  went  out 


JOHN  SMITH 


147 


from  home,  John  Smith  and  his  Nancy,  who  had 
borne  her  full  share  of  the  privations  which  fall 
to  the  lot  of  the  pioneer  preacher,  left  the 
farm,  and  purchasing  a  home  in  Mt.  Sterling, 
designed  to  spend  their  declining  years  in  quiet 
among  the  friends  to  whom  he  had  ministered 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  But  trouble  arising 
in  the  church  over  an  unworthy  successor, 
robbed  him  of  the  beautiful  hope  that  he  would 
live  out  his  patriarchal  days  among  a  people 
whom  he  loved  as  his  children.  He  now  turned 
away  with  a  heavy  heart,  and  securing  a  home 
in  Georgetown,  settled  down  beside  John  T. 
Johnson  and  other  hei-oes  of  pioneer  fame. 
Here  the  quiet  shades  of  evening  gathered  round 
and  his  great  soul  rejoiced  in  the  near  prospect 
of  its  reward.  As  he  waited  and  watched,  the 
promises  of  the  Gospel  he  had  tried  faithfully  to 
preach  cheered*  each  declining  day.  "What  a 
great  failure,  after  all,"  he  remarked,  "would 
my  long  and  checkered  life  have  been,  but  for 
this  glorious  hope  of  a  hereafter."  Thus  on 
Feb.  28,  1868,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  daughter  in 
Missouri,  he  fell  asleep.  "True,  genial  and 
pious;  the  good  loved,  and  all  respected  him." 

John  Smith  was  a  typical  pioneer.  What 
Daniel  Boone  and  David  Crockett  were  to  the 
early  social  and  political  life  of  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee,  John  Smith  was  to  religious  society 


148 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


of  that  period.  The  lonely  backwoodsmen, 
hewing  out  their  homes  in  the  unbroken  forest, 
constituted  his  first  parish.  The  log-cabin  fur- 
nished him  a  home  and  frequently  a  meeting- 
place  for  those  drawn  together  by  his  rugged 
eloquence.  The  poverty,  the  hardship,  the  peril 
of  that  sturdy  generation  of  empire-builders, 
were  all  familiar  to  him.  Like  the  people  to 
whom  he  ministered,  he  knew  little  of  the  great 
Avorld  that  laj'  beyond,  and  but  for  his  familiar- 
ity with  the  Word  of  God  would  have  been  ac- 
counted an  ignorant  man. 

But  in  the  knowledge  of  divine  things  as  re- 
vealed in  the  Scriptures  he  had  few  equals,  and 
was  an  antagonist  to  be  dreaded  in  any  theolog- 
ical combat.  To  that  generation  of  simple- 
minded,  hard-working  pioneers,  he  was  a 
prophet  of  unrivaled  power;  a  teacher  whose 
message,  clothed  in  the  rugged  imagery  of  the 
frontier,  smote  their  hearts;  a  leader  whose  fear- 
less steps  they  did  not  hesitate  to  follow.  His 
uncouth  ajipearance,  his  homely  phrases,  his 
rude  manners,  were  the  product  of  the  times 
and  not  the  essential  characteristics  of  the  man. 
For  within  was  a  heart  as  tender  as  a  woman's, 
a  chivalrous  spirit  that  would  have  done  credit 
to  an  age  of  knight-errantry,  and  a  moral  pur- 
pose that  reflected  the  noblest  ideals  of  Chris- 
ti'an  faith. 

Of  his  peculiar  characteristics  and  power  as  a 


JOHN  SMITH 


149 


preacher,  Walter  Scott,  his  devoted  friend  and 
co-hiborer,  has  left  us  this  vivid  picture: 

"Quulitj-  of  voice — guttural,  dr\'  and  husky; 
articulation — measured,  slow,  perfect;  emphasis 
— natural,  striking;  tone — drawling;  action — 
nervous,  indicating,  Doiomvith  the  enemy;  lan- 
guage— always  sifting  out  the  sense;  logic — sure, 
sharp,  killing;  rhetoric — borrowed  from  all 
sources,  in  nature,  from  the  sun  down  to  the 
spark  of  the  firefly;  in  society,  from  the  king  to 
the  beggar;  in  art,  from  the  sublimest  to  the 
meanest  of  human  fabrications,  and  in  I'eligion, 
everything;  eloquence — sparkling,  shrewd,  and 
bordering  sometimes  on  the  indescribable.  But 
let  a  man  take  care  how  he  resigns  himself  to 
Smith's  wit.  It  is  used,  as  some  dangerous 
animals  use  their  feelers,  simply  to  ascertain 
Avhere  the  prey  lies;  when  that  is  done,  the  wit 
is  ended,  and  then  woe  betide  the  man  that 
smiled." 

In  him  God's  grace  found  a  channel  through 
which  its  blessings  flowed  to  thousands,  and  a 
new  and  untried  cause  a  champion  whose  fear- 
less defense  made  truth  victorious  in  the  face  of 
every  foe. 


IV. 

ISAAC  ERRETT. 


We  talk  of  the  wonders  of  the  world,  but  to  me  the  sub- 
limest  of  wonders  is  a  genuine  man  or  woman,  successfully 
battling  against  the  witcheries  of  sin  and  sense,  and  overcom- 
ing all  earthly  gravitations  in  a  determined  ascent  to  the 
mountain-top  of  truth  and  rigliteousness.  Anxiously,  trem- 
blingly, he  touches  the  keys  until  he  is  sure  he  has  struck  the 
true  key-note  of  existence.  Carefully,  prayerfully,  sleeplessly 
he  surveys  the  heavens  until  he  detects  the  pole  star  of  his 
hopes.  Through  a  thousand  fears  and  strifes  and  experi- 
ments, he  succeeds  in  rigging  and  trimming  his  vessel,  and 
obtaining  charts  and  compasses  that  he  can  trust,  and  then 
committing  himself  to  the  God,  who  ruleth  the  winds  and 
stayeth  the  raging  of  the  seas,  he  ventures  bravely  out  on  the 
voyage  of  life.— Isaac  Errett. 
152 


ISAAC  ERRETT. 


/.    EARLY  TRAINING  FOR  WORK. 

MOXG  the  molders  of  the  hiter  history  of  the 


Disciples  of  Christ,  none  occupy  a  more 
prominent  place  than  Isaac  Errett,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  He  belongs  to  that  second  gener- 
ation of  nineteenth  century  reformers  who  en- 
tered into  the  labors  of  Alexander  Campbell 
and  the  early  pioneers,  and  who  by  a  broad- 
spirited  leadership  made  the  splendid  triumphs 
of  the  last  half  century  possible. 

Ilis  father,  Henry  P^rrett,  came  from  the  north 
of  Ireland,  the  birthplace  of  so  many  of  our 
sturdy  pioneers.  Landing  in  the  city  of  New 
York  about  the  time  the  Campbells  began  their 
work  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  he  early  became 
a  champion  of  the  cause  they  advocated.  Mr. 
Errett,  upon  his  arrival  in  America,  found  em- 
ployment in  a  large  mercantile  establishment, 
where  his  integrity  and  talent  soon  won  for  him 
the  position  of  confidential  clerk.  But  what- 
ever the  demands  of  business,  he  did  not  suffer 
his  daily  cares  to  check  his  ardor  or  lessen  his 
labors  in  the  Master's  work.    In  the  da^'s  of 


(153) 


154 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


small  things,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  take  his 
stand  with  an  unpopular  cause,  and  was  soon 
the  recognized  leader  of  the  religious  society  to 
which  he  belonged. 

Amidst  the  hurry  and  din  of  the  American 
metropolis,  Isaac  Errett  was  born  on  January  2, 
1820,  the  fifth  son  in  a  family  of  seven.  His 
life,  from  earliest  childhood,  was  that  of  a  typ- 
ical American  boy,  and  his  early  struggles  and 
final  achievements  present  those  admirable  ele- 
ments of  pluck  and  endurance,  which  have  char- 
acterized so  many  men  of  note  in  our  history. 

It  was  the  misfortune  of  this  boy  at  the  early 
age  of  five  to  be  left  fatherless,  and  his  greater 
misfortune,  a  short  time  after,  to  have  come 
under  the  care  of  an  unsympathetic  step-father. 
The  only  contribution  of  the  latter  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  growing  lad,  was  the  cultivation  of  a 
self-reliant  nature,  by  withholding  the  assistance 
and  encouragement  which  should  have  been 
given.  Many  privations  and  hardships  fell  to 
the  lot  of  Isaac,  along  with  the  other  children, 
which,  but  for  his  genial  nature,  might  have 
embittered  his  whole  life.  That  the  stc|)-father, 
a  Scotchman,  was  unnecessarily  harsh,  we  may 
gather  from  the  old  man's  confession,  years 
afterward,  when  the  boys,  in  spite  of  his  neglect, 
had  grown  up  to  be  useful  men.  "To  think," 
said  he,  "what  gran'  men  they  are,  and  I  did  na 
help  them  on  their  way  up!    They  were  a'  good 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


155 


boys  and  very  bright ;  and  to  think  I  did  na  see 
it.  I  canna  forget,  I  cauna  forgie  mysel'  that  I 
was  na  a  father  to  'eni." 

It  is  iinpossiI)le,  in  this  formative  period  of 
Isaac  Errett's  career,  to  discover  the  secret  of 
the  after-life  of  influence  and  power.  Of  edu- 
cational advantages  there  were  none  to  speak  of; 
but  during  the  residence  of  the  family  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  Isaac  enjoyed  an  occasional 
term  in  the  public  school,  his  only  school  priv- 
ilege, and  somehow,  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
ten,  contrived  to  secure  the  rudiments  of  an 
education. 

His  early  religious  training,  however,  was 
looked  after  with  greater  care.  The  pious 
mother  esteemed  it  her  duty,  whatever  the  bur- 
dens of  her  busy  life,  to  see  that  her  children 
were  brought  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord.  The  home  was  made  a  sanctuary. 
The  Bible  was  the  text-book  of  the  fireside. 
Those  who  assembled  there  breathed  an  atmos- 
phere of  faith.  It  is  doubtless  due  to  these 
early  influences,  that  Isaac  was  saved  from  ship- 
wreck in  those  years  of  hardship  and  repression 
that  followed. 

A  short  time  after  the  advent  of  the  step- 
father, the  exigencies  of  the  family  led  to  their 
removal  to  a  farm  in  New  Jersey,  while  the  head 
of  the  family  continued  to  work  at  his  trade  in 
the  city.    Here  the  boys  were  put  to  work,  in  a 


156 


:\IEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


large  measure  earning  their  own  support.  In 
this  hand-to-mouth  struggle  for  existence  in  the 
free  open  country  they  became  toughened  in 
evei'y  fibre.  There  was  little  encouragement,  no 
opportunities,  abundance  of  work,  the  plainest 
of  living — altogether  affording  a  school  that  is 
not  to  be  despised  in  the  training  for  heroic 
service. 

When  Isaac  was  about  twelve  years  of  age, 
the  migratory  spirit  of  the  step-father  led  to  tiie 
removal  of  the  family  to  Pittsburg,  then  scarcely 
more  than  a  frontier  town.  Here  were  repeated 
the  hardships  with  which  he  had  become  familiar 
in  New  Jersey.  The  step-father  had  purchased  a 
small  farm  and  an  interest  in  a  mill,  and  he, 
along  with  his  older  brothers,  was  kept  busy  at 
one  place  or  the  other,  as  occasion  demanded. 
Burdens  were  put  upon  his  young  shoulders  that 
were  heavy  beyond  his  years.  Winter  and  sum- 
mer brought  its  continuous  round  of  work.  The 
awakening  thirst  of  the  boy,  as  he  began  now  to 
dream  of  a  larger  life,  was  met  by  repression. 
His  way  seemed  hedged  in. 

It  was  while  struggling  under  this  load  and  in 
the  face  of  these  discouragements,  that  Isaac 
began  to  think  seriously  of  the  claims  of  his 
Master  upon  his  heart  and  his  service.  Though 
every  other  avenue  seemed  closed  to  him,  he 
could  at  least  surrender  himself  to  the  authority 
of  Christ  and  trust  him  for  guidance. 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


157 


Having  resolved  upon  this  step,  like  Andrew, 
he  lirst  went  to  find  his  older  brother,  Russel,  to 
urge  him  to  like  obedience,  and  together  they 
obeyed  Christ  and  entered  the  church.  The  be- 
ginning of  a  religious  life  at  the  age  of  fourteen, 
soon  grew  to  be  an  absorbing  passion.  Almost 
at  once,  and  that,  too,  at  a  time  when  young  peo- 
ple were  not  encouraged  to  active  service,  he  be- 
gan in  a  humble  way  to  exercise  his  talents,  and, 
as  opportunity  afforded,  would  deliver  a  brief 
exhortation  or  lead  in  public  prayer. 

While  he  took  great  comfort  in  Christian  serv- 
ice, the  burdens  of  his  daily  life  were  not  less- 
ened. Hard  work  and  severe  treatment  contin- 
ued to  fall  to  his  lot;  and  his  shabby  clothes, 
ill-fitting,  usually  those  cast  off  by  his  older 
brothers,  became  a  heavy  cross  to  him,  especially 
when  he  appeared  in  iJublic.  At  last,  he  resolved 
to  break  away  from  the  tyranny  of  the  step- 
father, which  had  become  intolerable,  and 
through  the  aid  of  his  solicitous  mother  secured 
a  position  in  a  book-store.  It  was  a  providence 
in  the  life  of  this  youth  that  brought  him  into 
companionship  with  books,  even  if  it  was  in  the 
humble  capacity  of  an  errand-boy.  He  ambi- 
tiously grasped  the  opportunity  and  made  it  a 
stepping-stone  to  usefulness.  The  duties  of  his 
position  were  not  heavy.  His  employer  was  a 
kind-hearted  man,  who  allowed  him  the  privilege 
of  reading  during  his  leisure  moments.  This 


158 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


privilege  he  eiigeily  embraced.  His  years  of  in- 
tellectual denial  had  whetted  his  ai)[)etitc.  His 
mind,  though  undeveloped,  was  keen  in  its  grasp 
and  only  needed  the  touch  of  the  great  thoughts 
of  some  great  thinker  to  stimulate  it  into  activ- 
ity. The  store  now  became  his  college.  The 
volumes,  which  made  up  the  small  collection 
upon  the  shelves,  were  his  teachers.  Day  by  day 
his  horizon  widened.  A  new  world  opened  be- 
fore him  and  he  began  to  dream  of  larger  achieve- 
ments, and  to  look  about  him  for  a  tield  in  Avhich 
he  could  best  serve  his  race.  Although  he  re- 
mained but  a  year  in  the  book-store,  that  year 
had  enkindled  his  soul  with  a  purpose,  which, 
like  a  guiding-star,  led  liim  through  all  his  busy 
years. 

What  to  do  next,  was  the  question  that  now 
confronted  Isaac,  as  he  left  the  book-store.  It 
is  a  great  moment  in  the  life  of  a  young  man 
when  he  finds  himself  happily  at  work  in  the 
place  for  which  nature  and  Providence  have  fit- 
ted him,  but  it  is  not  always  easy  to  find.  With 
many  it  is  an  achievement  that  comes  only  after 
many  futile  efforts,  many  unwise  beginnings, 
often  many  misspent  years. 

In  the  case  of  young  Errett,  the  way  God  in- 
tended him  to  go  did  not  at  once  appear.  As  he 
started  out  to  do  for  himself  in  the  world  the 
future  was  veiled.  Poverty  had  thus  far  been 
his  only  heritage.    Every  door  to  culture  and 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


159 


preferment  had  not  only  been  closed  but  locked 
against  him.  Even  now,  as  his  horizon  began  to 
expand  a  little,  as  a  result  of  companionship 
with  the  books  which  he  had  dusted  and  read  in 
the  store,  the  distance  between  his  ignorant  self 
and  the  culture  for  which  he  thirsted  seemed 
immeasurable.  But  he  was  not  without  encour- 
agement that  his  dream  might  some  day  be  real- 
ized. Had  not  others  overcome  difficulties  as 
great? 

Among  the  books  on  the  shelf  of  the  store, 
where  he  served  in  the  humble  capacity  as  errand- 
boy,  was  the  autobiography  of  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin. As  he  followed  the  career  of  the  poor 
printer,  through  many  struggles,  to  the  position 
of  eminence  and  learning  which  he  ultimately 
attained,  this  hero  became  his  ideal.  What  had 
been  done  he  would  at  least  attempt.  Fired 
with  this  ambition,  Isaac  sought  and  gained  ad- 
mission to  a  printing-office,  determined  to  use  it 
as  a  stepping-stone  to  some  field  of  larger  use- 
fulness. In  the  execution  of  his  purpose,  he 
bound  himself  as  a  printer's  apprentice  and  at 
once  entered  into  his  new  duties,  resolved  "to 
master  the  whole  art  and  mystery  of  it." 
Though  but  in  his  seventeenth  year  he  brought 
to  his  task  the  seriousness  and  thoughtf  ulness  of 
one  of  mature  years.  He  was  not  long  in  dis- 
covering his  deficiencies,  and  soon  found  that  to 
.attain  the  highest  success  as  a  printer,  he  must 


160 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


increase  his  stock  of  knowledge.  To  do  this 
required  a  heroic  effort.  That  he  might  have 
books,  he  determined  to  practice  the  mo!?t  rigid 
economy,  and  by  preparing  his  own  food  actu- 
ally succeeded  in  living  on  a  dollar  a  week. 
Purchasing  a  grammar  and  other  books  with  his 
meagre  savings,  he  began  in  earnest  the  work  of 
self-education  with  a  view  to  making  a  complete 
success  of  his  undertaking.  All  his  s[)aie  time 
was  now  employed  in  study,  and  by  diligence  he 
soon  became  a  successful  conjpositor. 

But  wliile  he  souglit  intellectual  development, 
he  did  not  neglect  tlie  culture  of  his  heart.  He 
was  first  of  all  a  Christian,  and  would  not  allow 
his  worldly  ambition  to  interfere  with  his  relig- 
ious growth.  It  was  at  this  period  of  self-de- 
privation and  tireless  effort  that  he  adopted  as 
one  of  the  rules  of  conduct  the  following:  "I 
will,  with  the  help  of  God,  rise  at  four  o'clock 
and  spend  until  six  in  reading  the  Bible  and 
prayer."  Unconsciously,  in  these  quiet  morning 
hours,  he  was  preparing  himself  for  the  place  he 
was  destined  to  occupy  as  a  public  servant  of 
Christ. 

Like  many  another  ambitious  youth,  he  was 
not  content  with  the  mere  mechanical  work  of 
his  trade.  He  had  begun  to  think,  and  his 
thoughts  were  struggling  for  utterance.  In  the 
office  where  he  served  was  published  a  weekly 
journal,  "The  Intelligencer."    To  this  journal 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


161 


he  offered  occa&ionai  contributions  from  his  own 
pen.  These  early  productions  were  well  re- 
ceived by  the  public,  and  while  lacking  the 
charm  of  his  later  writings,  at  once  marked  him 
out  as  a  young  man  of  talent  and  promise.  After 
a  time  Isaac  Errett  was  asked  by  his  employer  to 
become  the  editor  of  the  journal  to  which  he  had 
contributed  from  time  to  time,  and  was  intro- 
duced to  the  public,  which  from  this  time  on  he 
was  destined  to  serve  in  some  conspicuous  capa- 
city, as  a  "young  gentleman  of  good  talents, 
sound  morals,  and  an  exemplary  citizen." 

While  he  had  found  the  place  in  v/hich  he  was 
later  to  distinguish  himself,  he  was  not  then 
aware  of  it,  and  after  a  short  experience  in  edi- 
torial labors,  turned  his  attention  to  another 
field. 

Still  seeking  for  his  proper  place  in  the  world, 
he  was  now  induced  to  leave  the  printing  busi- 
ness, and  decided  to  turn  his  attention  to  teach- 
ing. A  district  school  was  offered  him,  which, 
with  some  misgivings,  he  accepted.  In  view  of 
the  deficiencies  of  his  early  education  this  was 
rather  a  hazardous  undertaking,  and  had  he  been 
less  resolute  and  gifted,  might  have  resulted  in 
ignominious  failure.  But  whatever  he  lacked  in 
acquaintance  with  the  text-books  he  made  up 
in  determination.  "I  had  frequently,"  he  sa3-s, 
"to  sit  up  late  at  night  to  keep  ahead  of  my 

scholars  in  some  branches  that  I  undertook  to 
11 


162 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


teiicli,  and  succeeded  beyond  my  expectation  in 
advancing  the  scholars  and  giving  satisfaction." 
Had  he  been  contented  with  the  vocation  of 
teacher,  he  had  now  found  a  place  where  he  was 
.sur(>  to  succeed.  A  larger  school  was  now  offered 
him,  and  with  a  salary  of  five  hundred  dollars  he 
felt  himself,  for  the  first  time,  beyond  pinching 
poverty.  Accustomed,  as  he  had  been  during  his 
apprenticeship,  to  small  wages  and  scant  living, 
his  salary  was  to  him  a  princely  sum.  He  could 
now  buy  books  and  gratify,  as  never  before,  his 
thirst  for  knowledge.  Indeed,  in  spite  of  the 
neglect  of  hi-;  early  years  he  was  fast  becoming  a 
well-educated  man.  The  book-store  and  print- 
ing-ofiice  had  l)oth  been  important  factors  in  his 
education,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  best 
school  he  ever  attended  was  the  one  taught  by 
himself,  in  which  he  was  at  once  teacher  and 
pupil. 

A  mjRKMAN  TlfA  T  y Kill lE Til  NOT  TO  UK 
ASIIAMKI). 

While  in  the  school-room,  the  way  opened  to 
another  field  of  service,  to  which  Mr.  Errett's 
life,  from  this  time  to  the  end,  may  be  said  to 
have  belonged.  It  was  a  call  to  the  ministry  of 
the  Gospel. 

A  devout  and  earnest  disciple,  a  reverent  stu- 
dent of  the  Word,  and  a  faithful  servant  of 
Christ,  it  had  as  yet  never  occurred  to  him  that 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


163 


he  was  able  to  preach.  Indeed,  the  ministry 
among  the  Disciples  of  Christ  at  that  period  pre- 
sented few  iiiduceiuents  from  a  worldly  point  of 
view.  The  churches  were  few  in  number,  small 
in  membership  and  poor  in  purse.  In  this  con- 
dition they  depended,  for  the  most  part,  upon 
mutual  edification,  using  such  talent  as  the 
church  possessed.  It  thus  happened  that  young 
Errett  was  often  called  upon  to  assist  in  con- 
ducting the  worship,  and  in  a  humble  way  made 
use  of  his  talent  in  the  Lord's  day  service.  It 
was  with  no  intention  of  becoming  a  preacher, 
but  rather  in  fulfilling  what  he  felt  to  be  his  duty 
as  a  private  member,  that  he  was  learning  how  to 
preach.  His  remarks  were  usually  brief  and  un- 
pretentious, but  it  was  observed  that  they  were 
always  to  the  point.  There  was  a  freshness,  a 
warmth,  a  helpfulness  in  his  utterances  which 
pleased  his  hearers,  and  brought  him  into  promi- 
nence in  the  church. 

In  the  meantime  he  was  working  and  strug- 
gling to  make  his  way  in  the  world,  devoting 
much  of  his  time  to  writing  and  speaking;  "the 
latter,"  he  says,  "not  so  much  because  I  wanted 
to,  as  because  circumstances  combined  to  force 
me  into  it." 

At  length  an  appeal  was  made  to  him  to  pre- 
pare and  preach  a  regular  sermon.  The  church 
was  failing  to  reach  and  save  the  lost.  Those 
Avho  knew  him  best  felt  that  he  possessed  the 


164 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


talent  which  would  supply  their  need.  The  young 
teacher  reluctantly  gave  his  consent,  and  at  the 
appointed  time  appeared  before  the  congrega- 
tion. As  he  arose  in  the  pulpit  to  preach  his 
first  sermon,  he  is  described  as  a  "tall,  slender, 
smooth-faced,  pale  young  man.  He  had  the 
student  cast  of  countenance,  and  looked  like  he 
had  long  been  burning  midnight  oil."  His  utter- 
ances pleased  and  charmed  his  hearers.  He  had 
made  a  happy  beginning  in  a  new  field  of  service. 
His  effort  was  received  with  enthusiasm,  and 
from  that  time  it  was  understood  that  Isaac 
Errett  was  to  be  a  preacher  of  the  reformation, 
and  all  predicted  that  in  him  the  cause  had  found 
an  able  champion.  He  had  at  last  found  his 
place  and  his  work  in  the  world. 

Mr.  Errett  had  but  entered  upon  his  twentieth 
year,  when  he  essayed  to  preach  his  first  dis- 
course. For  a  youth,  without  college  education 
or  theological  training,  he  was  possessed  of  rare 
talent  as  a  public  speaker.  Nature  had  made 
him  a  preacher,  and  endowed  hiiu  with  all  the 
requisite  qualifications, — commanding  presence, 
persuasive  voice,  spiritual  earnestness  and  intel- 
lectual- keenness.  His  neighbors  discovered  in 
him  the  elements  of  success,  and  l)egan  to  urge 
him  to  enter  the  ministry. 

Frecpient  demands  were  now  made  upon  him 
for  sermons;  and  while  he  heartily  responded  to 
these  calls,  he  shrank  from  committing  himself 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


165 


to  a  work  for  which  he  felt  so  poorly  qualified. 
So,  for  several  months,  he  continued  in  the 
school-room,  preaching  an  occasional  discourse 
on  Sunday,  and  demonstrating  with  each  new 
effort  his  fitness  for  the  work.  Finally,  yielding 
to  the  solicitation  of  friends,  he  resigned  his 
place  as  teacher,  that  he  might  devote  himself 
exclusively  to  the  pastoral  care  of  a  mission  that 
had  been  planted  in  another  part  of  the  city. 

If  anyone  imagines  him  actuated  by  mercenary 
motives,  in  entering  the  ministry,  he  need  only 
compare  the  figures  representing  the  salary  sur- 
rendered with  that  received.  Measured  from  a 
financial  standpoint,  he,  at  that  time,  made  a 
great  sacrifice  when  he  left  the  school-room  for 
the  pulpit.  In  the  former  position,  he  had  an 
assured  salary,  which,  though  modest,  provided 
for  his  necessities ;  in  the  latter,  he  was  largely 
recompensed  in  promises  that  were  forgotten 
and  assurances  that  did  not  materialize.  But 
the  young  preacher  had  entered  the  field  for 
spiritual  conquest,  not  for  worldly  gain.  Like 
Paul,  he  knew  both  how  to  be  abased  and  how  to 
abound;  and  to  one  who,  in  the  days  of  his 
apprenticeship,  had  lived  on  one  dollar  a  week, 
the  question  of  compensation  was  not  a  very 
serious  one  after  all. 

In  the  new  field  Isaac  Errett  felt  the  need  of 
companionship  in  his  work,  of  one  closer  than  a 
friend,  "to  stimulate  and  uphold  him."  He 


166 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


was  not  long  in  finding  a  member  of  his  flock 
entire!}'  to  his  liking,  who  was  ready  to  share 
with  him  the  honor  and  the  poverty  of  his  posi- 
tion. The  increase  in  his  responsibility  and  ex- 
penses which  a  wife  brought,  caused  his  admir- 
ing people  to  come  forward  with  the  munificent 
salary  of  three  hundred  dollars  promised  in  hard 
cash,  but  which,  we  have  reason  to  believe,  was 
materially  diminished  before  it  found  its  way 
into  tiie  ministerial  ])urse. 

But  whatever  the  load  of  anxiety  laid  upon 
the  heart  of  the  young  pastor  and  husband,  in 
keeping  his  accounts  straight  and  the  wolf  of 
hunger  from  the  door,  we  know  that  he  was  suc- 
cessful in  the  work  to  which  he  gave  his  heart 
and  hand.  Struggling  through  discouragements, 
growing  in  power  and  reputation,  he  continued 
through  four  years,  when  at  last  necessity  led 
him  to  change. 

His  reputation  as  a  preacher  of  promise  had 
reached  across  the  line  into  Ohio,  and  a  call  now 
came  to  him  from  New  Lisbon.  This  church 
was  one  of  historic  interest  in  the  movement  of 
the  Disciples.  Here  the  Baptist  Association  had 
met  which  employed  Walter  Scott  to  labor 
among  the  churches  of  the  Western  Reserve. 
Here  that  prince  of  evangelists  had  won  his 
first  great  victory  in  his  new  evangelism.  This 
church  had  been  one  of  the  first  in  the  State  to 
adopt  the  principles  of  the  Reformation.  It 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


167 


was  no  small  honor  that  the  young  preachei* 
should  receive  a  call  to  such  a  church.  But 
much  of  the  early  glory  had  departed  when 
Isaac  Errett  came  among  them.  Dissensions 
had  arisen,  and  many  hindrances  were  in  the 
way.  Such,  however,  was  the  energy  and  ability 
of  the  young  man,  that  he  soon  gained  the  re- 
spectful hearing  of  all  parties  and  witnessed  the 
rapid  growth  of  the  church  in  numbei's,  zeal  and 
good  works. 

It  was  while  engaged  in  this  work  that  Isaac 
Errett  dedicated  himself  irrevocably  to  the  min- 
istry of  the  Word.  Many  years  later,  when 
called  back  to  the  scenes  of  his  t  a;  ly  labors,  he 
wrote:  "In  the  weakness  and  treiiihling  anxiety 
of  that  time,  the  church  at  New  Lisbon  extended 
a  cordial  sympathy  and  a  hearty  co-opcMat ion, 
and  the  leading  men  of  the  community  txaw  us  a 
generous  confidence  and  approval,  and  the  (|ues- 
tion  of  our  calling  for  life  was  settled  here."' 

Here  again  was  expei'ienced  that  struggle  with 
pinching  poverty  which  had  been  Mr.  Errett's 
unfailing  companion  since  first  he  had  entered 
the  ministry.  He  had  been  promised  a  salary  of 
five  hundred  dollars.  The  first  year  it  was  with 
a  hard  struggle  that  the  church  had  raised  half 
that  amount.  The  second  year  his  salary  was 
reduced  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  allow- 
ing the  preacher  one-half  of  his  time  to  devote 
to  evangelistic  labors.    The  third  year  he  was 


168 


IVirCN  OF  YESTERDAY 


compelled  to  raise  his  entire  salary  in  the  field. 
But  still  he  labored  on  with  heroic  self-abnega- 
tion, winning  in  reputation  and  in  spiritual  fruits 
what  he  failed  to  gain  in  purse  and  store.  He 
was  beginning  to  be  recognized  as  one  of  the 
ablest  preachers  of  the  Reformation.  Often 
driven  out  from  the  home  church  by  sheer  want, 
he  was  enlarging  his  acquaintance  with  the 
brotherhood  and  preparing  himself  for  the  man- 
tle of  leadcrshi}^  that  was  ultimately  to  fall  upon 
his  shoulders. 

The  cry  of  necessity  must  at  times  be  heard. 
One  cannot  always  live  on  the  good  wishes  and 
praise  of  friends.  Much  as  Mr.  Errett  loved  and 
was  beloved  by  the  New  Lisbon  church,  he  could 
not  ignore  his  obligation  to  his  growing  family. 
He  found  it  impossible  to  keep  them  in  the  most 
humble  way,  and  keep  even  with  the  world ;  so 
he  determined,  after  five  years  of  faithful  ser- 
vice, in  the  face  of  the  protest  of  every  member 
of  his  church,  to  accept  a  new  field.  .North 
Blooinfield,  at  that  time,  presenting  a  more 
promising  outlook,  he  removed,  in  1849,  to  that 
point.  While  the  field  was  small  and  compara- 
tively unimportant,  it  contributed  an  important 
element  in  the  fashioning  of  the  leader,  since  it 
afforded  him  time  for  study,  and  also  time  to 
extend  his  acquaintance  with  the  brotherhood, 
and  to  turn  his  mind  to  larger  interests.  He 
then  became  one  of  the  movers  in  the  establish- 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


169 


ment  of  the  Western  Reserve  Eclectic  Institute, 
now  Hiram  College,  and  a  leader  in  the  organ- 
ization of  the  churches  of  Ohio  for  missionary 
effort. 

One  incident  at  this  period  is  deserving  of 
remembrance.  At  one  of  his  appointments, 
through  some  misunderstanding,  but  one  auditor 
was  present.  Mr.  Errett  resolved  to  improve 
the  opportunity,  went  through  the  service  much 
in  the  usual  order,  with  singing,  the  reading  of 
the  Scripture  and  pi-ayer,  preached  a  sermon 
with  his  wonted  zeal,  gave  an  invitation  to 
which  his  solitary  listener  responded.  The  con- 
vert of  that  occasion  was  Edwin  Wakefield, 
afterward  a  preacher  of  the  Reformation,  who 
has  been  instrumental  in  winning  thousands  to 
Christ. 

A  more  important  field  now  claimed  Mr. 
Errett's  service,  where  the  climax  of  this  period 
of  his  life  was  reached.  The  church  at  Warren 
had  enjoyed  an  occasional  visit  from  him,  and  in 
1851  prevailed  upon  him  to  become  the  pastor. 
The  five  j^ears  spent  with  this  promising  church 
were  perhaps  the  happiest  and  most  useful  in 
his  early  ministry.  Here  he  noC  only  built  up  a 
strong  congregation  at  home,  but  he  went  out 
into  the  regions  about,  holding  meetings,  organ- 
izing churches,  encouraging  the  Aveak,  and  infus- 
ing his  own  earnest  spirit  into  the  struggling 
missionary  enterprises  of  the  brotherhood.  As 


170 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


pastor,  evangelist  and  missionary  secretary,  he 
was  kept  busy,  but  he  still  found  time  for  other 
service,  championing  the  cause  of  Christianity 
against  Spiritualism  in  public  debate,  and  ad- 
dressing the  American  Bible  Union  on  the  needs 
of  a  revision  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  But 
fruitful  as  his  ministry  had  been,  in  1856  he  was 
constrained  to  leave  this  promising  field  on  a 
pilgrimage  that  for  a  time  threatened  to  rob  the 
brotherhood  of  his  talent. 

There  are  but  few,  perhaps,  who  have  not,  at 
some  period  of  life,  had  thrown  about  them  the 
glamour  of  anticipated  fortune.  The  way  to 
easy  riches  has  seemed  about  to  open.  An 
atmosphere  of  enchantment  enveloped  them, 
and  air-built  castles  beckoned  their  entrance. 
The  preacher  has  not  always  been  deaf  to  the 
voice  of  the  enchantress.  The  way  to  earthly 
riches  may  not  seem  to  be  exactly  in  line  with 
his  calling,  but  conscience  easily  soothes  itself 
with  the  promise  of  the  righteous  use  of  the 
wealth  which  seems  to  be  within  reach. 

Mr.  Errett,  though  a  man  of  strong  conviction 
and  sti'ong  character,  was  no  exception.  The 
hard  lines  of  his  life  as  a  pastor,  the  continual 
battle  with  necessity,  led  him  now  to  listen  to 
such  a  voice.  He  would  not  make  merchandise 
of  his  ministry.  That  had  never  entered  his 
mind.  With  heroic  self-denial  he  had  refused 
again  and  again  tempting  calls  to  larger  fields 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


171 


with  ample  salaries.  But  while  engaged  in  his 
labors  at  Warren,  the  temptation  came  to  him  in 
a  new  guise.  A  company  of  brethren  had  been 
organized  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  mill- 
ing business  in  the  lumber  regions  of  Michigan. 
Mr.  Errett  was  invited  to  go  with  them,  become 
a  partner  in  the  business  and  general  manager, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  preacher  of  the  Reform- 
ation in  the  regions  round  about.  It  was  repre- 
sented to  him  that  he  would  ver}'  soon  become 
independent  from  a  worldlj-  point  of  view.  The 
business  was  legitimate  and  safe.  By  the  most 
conservative  figures  of  the  l)u<ine<s  men  who 
were  to  become  Mr.  Erretfs  associates,  the 
profits  would  lift  them  all  into  atfluence. 

The  prospect  had  its  advantages.  A  vision  of 
long-desired  opportunities  of  study  and  travel 
arose  before  him.  His  children,  too,  should 
have  the  educational  privileges  he  desired. 
Moreover,  he  would  be  free  from  the  embarrass- 
ments of  an  empty  purse  and  dependence  upon 
an  ungenerous  public.  He  could  then  throw 
himself  unreservedly  into  the  Lord's  work.  "It 
would  be  an  untrammeled  life;  he  would  be  his 
own  master,  and  could  work  when  and  where 
and  how  it  might  seem  good  to  him."  Alto- 
gether, it  was  a  rose-colored  prospect,  and  it 
fascinated  him. 

Every  inducement  was  presented  by  his  Ohio 
friends  to  dissuade  him  from  going.  Splendid 


172 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


fields  invited  liim.  Leading  pulpits  were  at  his 
command.  Ample  salaries  were  offered  him. 
Prominent  brethren  joined  in  the  effort  to 
change  him  from  his  purpose.  His  removal  to 
the  sparsely-settled  frontier  of  Michigan  seemed 
to  them  a  needless  burial.  His  talents  were 
needed  among  the  churches  of  the  Western 
Reserve,  which  were  rapidly  growing  in  numbers 
and  influence.  The  backwoodsmen,  to  whom 
he  proposed  to  devote  his  ministry,  would  not 
appreciate  his  splendid  genius. 

But  all  their  efforts  were  unavailing.  His 
bonanza  was  hidden  in  the  far-away  forests  of 
Michigan,  and  there  he  would  go.  So  in  the 
spring  of  1856,  he  left  the  old  scenes  and  asso- 
ciations behind,  on  his  w^ay  to  supposed  fortune, 
but  in  reality  on  his  way  to  misfortune  and  dis- 
appointments. He  had  scarcely  reached  his  des- 
tination when  the  enchantment  was  dissolved, 
and  a  cheerless  prospect  confronted  him.  The 
milling  business  did  not  bring  its  anticipated 
returns,  and  was  in  time  abandoned.  The  fami- 
ly were  almost  continuously  prostrated  with  the 
fevers  of  a  malarious  region.  Hardships  un- 
numbered gathered  around  this  isolated  home. 

But  in  the  face  of  misfortune,  sickness  and 
discouragement,  Mr.  Errett  did  not  forget  his 
calling  as  a  minister,  nor  did  he  neglect  to  im- 
prove every  opportunity  which  his  bai-e  sur- 
roundings afforded.    Scattered  among  the  pine- 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


173 


woods  were  pioneer  families.  They  were  like 
sheep  without  a  shepherd.  Man3',  like  himself, 
had  come  from  circles  of  refinement  and  were 
struggling  heroically  with  hardships  and  discour- 
agements. To  these  'Mv.  Errett  bore  a  message 
of  hope.  In  the  absence  of  churches  and  relig- 
ious society,  he  went  to  the  school-houses  and 
town-halls,  and  was  soon  preaching  two  or  three 
sermons  every  Sunday  to  delighted  audiences. 
Then  as  winter  came  on  and  his  daily  labors 
were  lightened,  he  began  a  series  of  revival 
meetings  in  the  surrounding  neighborhoods, 
which  were  wonderfully  blessed.  "While  the 
fortune  he  had  dreamed  of  never  materialized, 
and  he  was  destined  to  return  to  Ohio  after  a 
few  years  as  poor  as  when  he  came,  Providence 
made  use  of  this  misfortune  to  disseminate  the 
plea  for  primitive  Christianity  over  a  wide 
region.  It  was  at  this  period  that  the  churches 
at  Ionia  and  Muir,  which  have  since  become  cen- 
ters of  influence  in  Michigan,  were  planted. 
"As  the  result  of  the  Divine  blessing  upon  his 
faithful  labors,"  writes  Mr.  Lamar,  his  biogra- 
pher, "about  five  hundred  persons  in  the  county 
and  about  one  thousand  in  that  part  of  the  State 
were  brought  to  the  feet  of  the  great  Teacher 
and  organized  into  a  number  of  strong  and  influ- 
ential churches." 


174 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


III.    FAITHFUL  SERVICE  IN  A  NEW  FIELD. 

The  gloom  of  the  backwoods  was  not  able  to 
obscure  the  light  of  one  of  Mr.  Errett's  genius. 
Though  he  had  retired  for  a  season  into  the  wil- 
derness, lie  was  not  unmindful  of  the  interests 
of  the  growing  brotherhood  to  which  he  had 
pledged  his  service.  He  anxiously  watched  the 
drift  of  this  movement,  and  again  and  again, 
during  this  period,  his  voice  rang  out  from  the 
woods,  warning  his  brethren  of  dangers,  and 
encouraging  them  to  increased  activity  in  the 
work  of  evangelization.  His  pen  was  also  busy. 
He  had  ol)served  with  deep  solicitude  the  nar- 
rowing, sectarian  tendency  of  some  of  the  later 
leaders  of  the  Reformation.  He  felt  this  to  be 
the  death-blow  of  the  work  inaugurated  by  the 
splendid  genius  of  Alexander  Campbell,  if  not 
speedily  checked.  Into  the  work  of  enlarge- 
ment he,  therefore,  threw  his  great  energies.  It 
was  amid  the  difficulties  and  discouragements  of 
this  period  that  he  wrote  "Walks  About  Jerusa- 
lem," seeking  through  its  pages  to  emancipate 
the  brothei'liood  from  the  loveless  legalism  of 
ul  t  r  a-co  n  se  r  V  a  t  i  V  e  1  e  a  d  e  r  s . 

As  was  to  be  expected,  an  appj'eciative  broth- 
erhood would  not  suffer  hiui  to  remain  long  in 
retirement.  His  services  were  needed  in  a 
larger  field.  In  1857  he  received  an  urgent  call 
to  become  the  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
American  Christian  Missionary  Society.  While 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


175 


continuing  his  residence  in  Michigan,  he  accepted 
the  appointment,  and  set  about  at  once  seeking 
to  infuse  new  life  into  the  missionaiy  enterprises 
of  the  brotherhood,  at  that  time  strongly  anti- 
missionary  in  sentiment.  This  position  he  held 
for  three  years.  These  were  busy  years,  beset 
with  hindrances,  but  fruitful  of  results.  In  the 
summer  he  traveled  far  and  wide,  seeking  to 
enkindle  a  missionary  interest.  His  winters  were 
devoted  to  evangelistic  labors  among  the 
churches  of  Michigan. 

The  slavery  question,  too,  was  now  uppermost. 
The  pro-slavery  and  anti-slaVery  lines  were 
closely  drawn.  In  the  churches  of  the  Reforma- 
tion both  elements  were  strongly  represented. 
Other  religious  bodies  were  being  rent  asunder 
upon  this  rock.  Though  himself  an  anti-slavery 
man,  Mr.  Errett  now  strove  to  prevent  the 
churches  from  yielding  to  extremists.  It  seemed 
for  a  time  that  his  efforts  were  to  prove  futile. 
In  1858  steps  were  taken  to  organize  an  anti- 
slavery  missionary  society  by  those  who  re- 
garded Mr.  Errett's  moderation  as  a  surrender 
to  the  slave-power.  A  small  company  assem- 
bled in  Indianapolis  and  the  new  missionary 
society  was  formed;  but  calmer  judgment,  in 
time,  prevailed,  and  the  churches,  while  differ- 
ing widely  and  sending  contingents  to  each  of 
the  contending  armies,  remained  a  united  broth- 
erhood.   As  the  war-cloud  gathered  and  passion 


176 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


ran  liigli,  Mr.  Errett,  perhaps,  did  more  than 
any  other  man  to  keep  the  good  ship  Zion  from 
stranding  and  going  to  pieces. 

The  years  through  which  Isaac  Errett  was  now 
passing  were  busy,  trying,  fruitful  years.  He 
had  accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  church  in 
Detroit,  but  continued  to  manifest  a  deep  inter- 
est in  everything  that  concerned  the  welfare  of 
the  brotherhood  at  huge.  It  was  an  epoch- 
making  period  in  our  history.  Old  things  were 
passing  away,  all  things  were  becoming  new.  la 
the  heat  of  civil  war  the  social,  political,  indus- 
trial life  of  the  nation  was  being  recast.  The 
church  was  not  to  escape  the  molding  influences 
at  work.  It  was,  also,  beginning  to  feel  the 
throb  of  the  new  life  that  was  everywhere  mani- 
fest. 

Mr,  Errett  at  once  caught  the  spirit  of  this 
new  dispensation,  and  was  among  the  first  to 
recognize  the  need  of  putting  the  religious 
forces  abreast  the  times.  A  new  era  of  con- 
quest demanded  new  methods.  These  he  now 
urged  with  voice  and  pen,  at  every  opportunity. 
But  his  progressive  spirit  was  regarded  with 
alarm  .by  many  of  his  l)rethren.  They  had  failed 
to  distinguish  between  matters  of  expediency 
and  Jerusalem  Gospel.  They  regarded  his  pro- 
gressive notions  as  a  surrender  of  the  great  plea 
for  the  restoration  of  primitive  Christianity. 

Thus  it  happened  that  while  engaged  in  the 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


177 


quiet  duties  of  his  pii.storate  iu  Detroit  he  be- 
cauic  the  target  of  much  unkind  criticism.  Tlie 
conscrviitive  element  of  the  church  was  gather- 
ing under  the  leadership  of  Benjamin  Franklin 
and  the  "American  Christian  Keview,"  and  was 
then  a  somewhat  formidable  force.  It  regarded 
itself  called  of  God  to  resist  the  liberalizing 
influence  of  this  liberal  loader.  Every  act  of 
his  was  passed  upon  by  this  tribunal  of  sound- 
ness. A  plain  statement  from  iiis  pen  on  the 
position  of  the  Disciples,  was  denounced  as  a 
creed;  and  his  friendly  attitude  toward  other 
religious  bodies  was  construed  into  an  unholy 
ambition  for  popularity. 

It  became  evident  to  the  friends  of  the  cause 
to  which  Alexander  Campbell  had  given  his 
grand  life,  that,  if  the  movement  was  not  to 
degenei'ate  into  a  narrow,  illiberal  sect,  a  new 
agency  must  be  employed  to  leaven  the  jiublic 
mind.  Nothing,  they  felt,  could  render  more 
efficient  service  than  a  religious  journal,  dcvotcul 
to  the  cause  of  a  broad,  undenominational 
Christianity.  The  "Millennial  Harbinger,"  it 
is  true,  was  still  a  representative  of  the  best 
thought  of  the  inovemcnt.  But  it  was  only  a 
monthly,  and  in  its  character  partook  more  of 
a  magazine  than  a  newspaper,  and  was  not 
adapted  to  the  new  conditions  that  confronted 
society  as  the  war-cloud  cleared  away. 

In  this  situation  came  a  demand  for  a  weekly 
12 


178 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


paper  that  would  properly  represent  our  posi- 
tion, and  which,  while  "true  to  the  letter  of  the 
Gospel,  would  also  be  true  to  the  Gospel  spirit." 
"There  had  been  for  years,"  writes  the  editor  of 
the  "Christian  Standard,"  many  years  later,  "a 
growing  desire  among  the  Disciples  for  a  weekly 
religious  paper  of  broader  range,  more  generous 
spirit  and  a  higher  order  of  literary  skill  and 
taste,  than  any  that  had  yet  appeared  under  their 
patronage." 

As  this  desire  began  to  find  expression  among 
a  growing  constituency  of  lilieral-ininded  lead- 
ers, all  eyes  were  turned  toward  Mr.  Errett  as 
the  man  best  qualified  to  inaugurate  such  an 
enterpi  ise.  He  had  now  reached  a  position  of 
influence  which  placed  him  clearly  in  tlie  leader- 
ship of  the  aggressive  portion  of  the  church. 
While  the  lines  of  his  life  had  mostly  been  cast 
in  the  channels  of  pastoral  and  evangelistic 
labors,  he  was  not  unacquainted  with  the  use  of 
the  pen,  or  the  responsibilities  of  an  editor. 

As  a  printer's  apprentice  he  had  not  only 
learned  to  set  type,  but  to  express  his  ideas  in  an 
attractive  literary  style.  During  the  years  in- 
tervening he  had  written  much  for  the  press. 
Addresses,  tracts,  and  books  had  revealed  his 
power  as  a  writer.  In  addition  to  his  pastoral 
labor,  at  this  period,  he  was  serving  as  contribu- 
ting editor  to  the  pages  of  the  "Millennial  Har- 
binger," and  his  terse,  practical  essays  were 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


179 


attracting  general  attention,  and  preparing  the 
way  for  the  reception  of  the  message  that  was  to 
consume  his  afterthought. 

In  deference  to  this  general  desire,  Mr.  Errett, 
while  yet  pastor  in  Detroit,  planned  the  publica- 
tion of  a  weekly  religious  paper,  such  as  the 
times  called  for.  But  before  he  was  able  to  put 
his  plans  into  execution,  an  unhappy  circum- 
stance, such  as  too  often  falls  to  the  preacher's 
lot,  led  to  the  severance  of  his  relation  as  pastor, 
and  his  return  to  Muir,  and  consequently  the 
abandonment,  for  a  time,  of  the  project. 

In  the  meantime,  his  friends,  unwilling  that 
the  enterprise  from  which  they  had  expected  so 
much  should  fail,  were  vigorously  at  work,  and 
on  December  26,  1865,  succeeded  in  organizing  a 
Christian  Publishing  Association  which  was  to 
furnish  the  capital  needed  in  the  publication  of 
a  religious  weekly.  Mr.  Errett  was  invited  to 
become  editor-in-chief.  The  paper  was  to  be 
called  the  "Christian  Standard."  Cleveland  was 
designated  as  the  most  suitable  place  for  its  pub- 
lication. Accepting  the  trust  imposed  in  him, 
Mr.  Errett  went  vigorously  to  wOrk.  Plans  were 
formulated,  offices  secured,  the  details  arranged. 
So  speedily  was  the  matter  pushed  that  on  April 
7, 1866,  the  first  number  of  the  "Christian  Stand- 
ard" appeared.  The  high  standard  which  the 
editor  set  for  himself  appears  in  the  initial 
number.    "Our  enterprise,"  he  writes,  "is  un- 


180 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


deitaken  from  a  deep  conviction  of  the  necessity 
of  an  increase  of  spiritual  forces  for  the  regen- 
eration of  society.  There  is  a  tliree-fold  object 
before  us,  which  every  enlightened  Christian 
must  and  will  approve:  1.  The  turning  of  the 
world  to  Christ.  2.  The  union  of  believers  in 
the  fellowship  of  the  Gospel.  3.  The  education 
of  Christians  into  a  nobler  spiritual  life." 

By  a  straiiuo  coincidence  the  career  of  Alexan- 
der Caiiipl)ell  closed,  as  that  of  Isaac  Errett,  as 
editor,  began.  The  news  of  the  death  of  this 
grand  old  man  reached  the  editor  as  he  was  pi*e- 
paring  the  first  issue  of  his  pajier,  and  the  first 
page  was  devoted  to  his  memory.  The  mantle 
of  Elijah  had  fallen  upon  the  shoulders  of 
Elisha. 

The  appearance  of  the  "Christian  Standard" 
marked  a  new  era  for  the  Disciples  of  Christ.  A 
turning-point  had  l)een  reached,  and  it  was 
largely  through  the  influence  of  the  "Standard" 
and  its  supporters  that  new  spiritual  forces  were 
then  set  in  motion,  which  have  since  contributed 
to  the  unprecedented  growth  of  the  brother- 
hood. 

In  the  founding  and  development  of  a  relig- 
ious weekly,  Mr.  Errett  also  found  his  pro[)er 
sphere.  Like  Horace  Greeley,  he  seemed  to 
possess  an  innate  genius  for  editorship,  a  sixth 
sense  by  which  he  discerned  the  people's  needs. 
It  was  through  this  great  channel  that,  for  the 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


181 


rest  of  his  life,  Mr.  Errett  "poured  forth  the 
fullness  of  his  vast  intellectual  and  spiritual  re- 
sources, gladdening  and  blessing  hundreds  of 
thousands  wherever  the  English  language  is 
spoken." 

But  the  management  of  such  an  enterprise 
as  that  which  now  engaged  the  editor,  was  not 
without  its  peculiar  perils.  He  succeeded,  if 
not  in  coming  up  to  his  ideal,  at  least  in  making 
a  good  paper.  Its  pages  breathed  a  sweet  spirit 
of  Christian  charity.  Its  ^readers  were  pleased. 
Its  influence  was  sure  to  result  in  the  enlarge- 
ment and  strengthening  of  the  churcli.  But  as 
a  financial  venture  it  was  not  a  success.  Sub- 
scriptions came  in  slowly.  At  the  close  of  its 
second  year  it  had  not  begun  to  pay  expenses. 
The  stockholders  became  discouraged,  and  at 
last  abandoned  the  enterprise,  turning  the  paper 
and  its  debts  over  to  Mr.  Errett,  to  woi-k  himself 
out  of  the  trying  situation  as  best  he  could. 
Unlooked  for  and  weighty  responsibilities  now 
rested  upon  him.  It  was  a  critical  time.  He 
resolved,  if  possible,  for  the  sake  of  interests 
that  were  dear  to  him,  to  continue  the  publi- 
cation. 

The  great  energy  of  Isaac  Errett  was  now 
taxed  to  the  utmost  to  keep  the  business  side  of 
the  "Christian  Standard"  from  bankruptcy. 
Almost  certain  ruin  stared  him  in  the  face;  and 
y^et  he  struggled  on  hoping  against  hope.  He 


182 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


believed  in  the  power  of  the  press.  He  was  pro- 
foundly confident  that  the  "Standard"  had  a 
mission.  He  had  studied  carefully  the  situation 
that  confronted  the  Disciples  of  Christ,  and 
foresaw, the  utter  defeat  of  a  great  cause,  unless 
the  course  of  opinion  could  be  changed,  and  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  church  saved  from  the  nar- 
row, sectarian  trend  of  some  of  its  self-appointed 
leaders.  To  lead  his  people  back  to  their  primi- 
tive liberty,  was  now  his  editorial  ambition,  and 
he  was  ready  to  catch  at  any  straw  that  would 
keep  his  paper  afloat  a  little  longer  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  mission. 

It  was  while  clouds  of  despair  were  thickening 
about  him  that  a  way  to  success  seemed  to  pre- 
sent itself.  A  new  college  enterprise  was  then 
being  set  on  foot,  at  Alliance,  Ohio.  A  great 
educational  institution  was  to  be  planted,  over 
which  Mr.  Errett  was  asked  to  preside.  It  was 
represented  to  him  that,  in  addition  to  the  splen- 
did buildings  being  constructed,  a  large  endow- 
ment fund  had  been  raised,  and  that  it  was  sure, 
in  the  future,  to  be  the  great  religious  center  of 
the  Disciples.  An  ample  salary  was  assured 
him,  and  as  his  new  duties  were  not  to  interfere 
with  his  connection  with  the  "Standard,"  he 
eagerly  accepted  it  and  moved  to  the  new  scene 
of  labors. 

The  scheme  proved  to  be  a  bubble,  and  in 
three  years  Alliance  College  had  added  another 


■  ISAAC  ERRETT 


183 


chapter  to  the  unfoitiinalc  (■ducational  record  of 
the  Disciples.  Before  the  bubble  burst,  how- 
ever, Mr.  Errett  had  severed  his  connection  with 
the  institution,  finding  it  impossible  to  bear  the 
responsibilit}'  of  two  struggling  enterprises.  His 
heart  was  in  the  "Standard."  He  could  not  see 
it  die,  nor  was  he  willing  that  it  sliould  pass  into 
less  tender  hands.  But  the  crisis  was  now  at 
hand.  The  support  he  had  hoped  for  was  not 
received.  He  could  go  no  further.  He  made  a 
last  call  for  help  from  his  brethren,  in  vain. 
Many  appreciated  his  efforts  and  enjoyed  his 
paper,  but  were  not  ready  to  share  in  his  sacri- 
fices. But  one  course  remained.  That  was  to 
abandon  the  enterpi-ise  and  surrender  the  cause. 
It  seemed  to  be  the  inevitable,  and  Mr.  Errett 
resolved  to  meet  it  with  a  brave  heart. 

"I  see  before  me,"  he  said  to  a  friend,  "a 
heavy  loss,  but  this  is  nothing  compared  with  my 
sorrow  that  the  paper  must  stop;  nevertheless 
we  must  have  courage  to  meet  defeat,  if  defeat 
must  come,  and  I  shall  try  to  accept  the  whole 
situation  Avith  calmness  and  act  as  becometh  a 
man." 

In  this  darkest  hour,  the  Gethsemane  of  God's 
servant,  help  unexpectedly  came.  A  business 
man  of  Cincinnati  and  an  experienced  publisher, 
K.  W.  Carroll,  offered  to  assume  the  responsi- 
bility of  publishing  the  "Christian  Standard,"'  if 
it  were  removed  to  that  city.    Tlie  offer  was 


184 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


accepted,  and  the  paper  and  its  editor  entered 
upon  a  new  career  of  service. 

IV.    THE  PROGRESSIVE  LEADER. 

The  church  was  now  at  its  hour  of  greatest 
peril,  and  needed  the  help  of  a  strong  hand.  As 
yet  it  had  not  been  able  to  adapt  itself  to  the 
new  conditions,  the  new  spirit  of  progress  which 
had  followed  the  war.  With  many,  whatever 
had  prevailed  among  the  practices  of  the  fathers 
during  the  tifty  years  previous,  had  all  the  weight 
of  Divine  authority.  Every  change  iu  method 
or  expediency  was  denounced  as  apostasy.  In- 
stead of  going  back  to  Jerusalem,  men  stopped 
at  Bethany,  and  that  which  Campbell  had  taught 
in  bringing  order  out  of  the  chaos  of  1830,  was 
regarded  as  equally  essential  in  adjusting  the 
church  to  its  environment  in  1870. 

At  this  critical  and  important  period,  Isaac 
Errett,  now  freed  from  the  embarrassment  of  an 
unprofitable  enterprise,  threw  himself  with  his 
great  strength  into  the  cause  of  Christian  liberty. 
He  was,  by  his  invaluable  service,  to  become  the 
second  emancipator  of  the  Church.  Campbell 
had  led  the  Church  out  of  the  bondage  to  writ- 
ten creeds  which  had  fostered  sectarianism ;  but 
Errett  was  now  to  render  no  less  important  serv- 
ice by  leading  it  out  of  bondage  to  the  unwritten 
traditions  of  the  elders,  which  was  scarcely  less 
sectarian  in  its  tendency.    By  his  clear,  forcible. 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


185 


logical  presentation  of  the  truth,  he  enabled  his 
readers  to  distinguish  between  matters  essen- 
tial— Scriptural,  permanent,  and  matters  of  ex- 
pediency,— temporal,  changing. 

While  men  of  narrow  mind  and  short  vision 
were  caviling  about  a  settled  ministry,  mission- 
ary co-operation,  friendly  recognition,  Sunday- 
schools,  church  music,  etc.,  Mr.  Errett  was  un- 
furling the  banner  of  liberty  in  Christ,  declaring 
in  reply  to  those  who  accused  him  of  apostasy, 
that  "any  attempt  to  introduce  or  enforce  any- 
thing as  a  matter  of  faith  or  duty  which  the 
apostles  did  not  enforce  in  the  name  of  our  Lord, 
would  be  a  stop  in  apostasy.  And  any  attempt 
to  compel  uniformity  in  thinking  or  in  practice, 
where  the  apostles  have  left  us  free,  was  virtual 
apostasy." 

Upon  this  platform  Mr.  Errett  defended  the 
principles,  which  have  now  come  to  be  recog- 
nized as  the  very  essence  and  strength  of  our 
movement,  in  its  message  to  the  religious  world 
and  its  plea  for  a  united  church. 

At  no  point  in  this  controversy  was  the  !)attle 
more  fierce  than  over  the  question  of  church 
music.  It  is  easy  for  us  to-day  to  see  how  all 
this  came  about. 

Previously,  life  had  been  too  hard  a  struggle 
with  most  people,  to  allow  them  to  give  atten- 
tion to  the  cultivation  and  gratification  of  refined 
tastes.    The  bare  necessities  made  up  the  equip- 


186 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


ment  of  home  and  life.  Having  never  enjoyed 
in  their  homes,  they  did  not  miss  in  the  house  of 
worship,  that  which  contributed  to  their  comfort 
or  pleasure.  But  after  the  war  came  a  season  of 
unwonted  prosperity.  The  old  cheerless  cabin 
gave  place  to  the  home  of  comfort.  The  bare 
floors  were  hidden  by  cheerful  carpets.  The 
hard-bottom  chair  Avas  cast  aside  and  rich  up- 
holstery installed  in  its  place.  The  children 
were  sent  to  seminary  and  college,  and  came  back 
with  awakened  minds  and  cultivated  tastes.  In- 
struments of  music  added  to  the  cheer  of  the 
home.  Everything  had  suddenly  changed  — 
everything  but  the  old  square,  unpainted  meet- 
ing-house, with  its  cheerless  walls,  uncomfort- 
able seats,  and  uninviting  service.  An  unpro- 
gressive,  unobserving  leadership  had  accepted 
these  as  essential,  and  regarded  them  almost  as 
indispensable  to  soundness  of  faith  as  belief  in 
the  Son  of  God,  or  obedience  to  his  express 
commands. 

Mr.  Errett  saw  clearly  the  hand  of  God  in  this 
new  march  of  civilization  and  sought  to  bring 
the  church  into  harmony  with  these  new  condi- 
tions. .He  saw  in  the  building  of  new,  attractive 
houses  of  worship  and  the  use  of  instruments  to 
aid  the  singing  and  all  other  accessories  of  a 
well-ordered  service,  not  the  result  of  pride,  or 
vanity,  or  worldliness,  but  the  inevitable  conse- 
quence of  growth  and  culture.    "The  change 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


1S7 


was  indeed  wonderful,  but  it  was  normal,  and 
most  blessed — the  sign  of  a  true  life  and  the  nec- 
essary precursor  of  abundant  fruitage." 

Mr.  Errett,  in  view  of  the  bitterness  which  the 
music  question  was  bringing  into  many  of  the 
churches,  wisely  counseled  peace,  the  exercise  of 
charity  and  forbearance.  But  he  foresaw  and 
hailed  the  inevitable  as  a  real  aid  to  spiritual 
worship.  The  argument  against  the  organ  as  an 
mnovation  he  met  in  a  way  that  soon  brought 
most  fair-minded  people  to  his  way  of  thinking. 

"When  they  preach,"  he  wrote  in  answer  to 
the  cry  of  innovation,  "they  go  into  a  meeting- 
house, which  is  an  innovation,  and  take  up  a 
hymn-book,  which  is  an  innovation,  and  give  out 
a  human  hymn,  which  is  an  innovation,  and  this 
hymn  is  sung  to  a  tune,  which  is  an  innovation, 
by  a  choir,  which  is  an  innovation,  by  the  aid  of 
tune-book  and  tuning-fork,  which  are  innova- 
tions. They  also  read  from  printed  Bibles, 
which  is  an  innovation.  Yet  who  dreams  in  all 
this  of  any  innovation  of  the  law  of  God  or  the 
authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

In  time,  the  counsel  of  Isaac  Errett  and  the 
many  wise  men  who  gathered  around  him  pre- 
vailed; and  the  church,  emancipated  from  every 
creed,  written  or  unwritten,  but  that  acknowl- 
edging the  Divinity  of  our  Lord,  entered  a  new 
era  of  conquest.  In  his  conflict  with  the  do- 
nothing,  the  anti-evei'ything  spirit  of  the  conser- 


188 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


vative  element  of  the  church,  he  had  saved  the 
day;  but  he  did  not  at  that  time  realize  the  com- 
ph'tene.ss  of  his  victory.  It  was,  therefore,  in  a 
rather  gloomy  frame  of  mind  that  he  cast  the 
horoscope  of  the  year  1872  in  his  paper. 

"We  grow  nervous,"  he  wrote,  "about  the  wel- 
fare of  the  church,  the  fulfillment  of  prophecies, 
the  triumpli  of  truth  and  righteousness  in  the 
earth.  Everything  seems  to  be  going  wrong. 
The  former  days  were  better  than  these.  Wick- 
edness abountls,  infidelity  is  bold  and  defiant; 
tlie  [)eople  are  at  ease  in  Zion  and  our  zeal  is 
paralyzed  by  our  unfaithfulness." 

Two  foes  confronted  him.  There  was  a  re- 
newed attack  of  sectarian  hate  from  without. 
It  had  been  confidently  predicted  by  the  enemies 
of  the  movement  that  the  brotherhood  built  up 
under  the  leadership  of  Alexander  Campbell  was 
only  held  together  by  the  "force  of  his  great 
name  and  his  powerful  personality;  so  with  his, 
death  they  would  speedily  disintegrate  and  come 
to  naught."  A  half  dozen  years  had  now  passed. 
Instead  of  decay,  the  Disciples  were  gradually 
coming  to  a  position  of  religious  importance. 

To  check,  if  possible,  the  progress  of  the 
movement,  the  old  method  of  misrepresentation 
and  calumny,  so  familiar  to  the  pioneers,  was 
again  employed.  But  in  Mr.  Errett  they  found 
no  easy  antagonist.  As  a  controversial  writer  he 
was,  perhaps,  without  an  equal, — clear,  incisive. 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


189 


convincing.  He  clearly  grasped  the  situation. 
He  was  able  to  meet  misrepresentation  as  no 
other  man,  because  he  had  breathed  in  the  veiy 
genius  and  spirit  of  our  movement,  and  was  able 
to  interpret  it  in  a  way  that  commanded  the 
admiration  and  the  acceptance  of  the  unpreju- 
diced thinker. 

A  more  serious  obstacle  to  enlargement  was 
the  element  of  dissent  within  the  ranks.  Many 
of  the  churches  were  wasting  their  energies  in 
unseemly  dissensions  about  "plans,"  and  doing 
nothing  for  the  evangelization  of  the  world  be- 
cause they  could  not  agree  as  to  the  "Lord's 
plan." 

It  had  thus  happened  that  while  professing 
loyalty  to  the  great  commission  above  that  of 
any  other  people,  they  had  failed  to  respond  to 
its  marching  orders.  While  living  in  the  midst 
of  the  mightiest  missionary  century,  in  which 
God  was  clearly  opening  the  way  to  the  conquest 
of  pagan  lands,  they  had  strangely  failed  to  hear 
Christ's  command  to  go.  It  is  true,  Mr.  Camp- 
bell had  discovered  the  purpose  of  God  before 
the  close  of  his  life,  and  had  pointed  to  the 
nations  lying  beyond  as  a  hopeful  field  for  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel;  but,  at  his  death,  no 
definite  work  toward  this  wider  evangelism  had 
been  begun,  and  men,  going  back  to  the  "Chris- 
tian Baptist,"  had  found  comfort  in  shutting 
their  hearts  and  purses  to  the  cry  for  helj)  from 


190 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


pagan  lands.  It  was  claimed  that  "as  there  was 
no  apostolic  precept  nor  example  demanding 
missionary  societies,  their  formation  was  a  de- 
parture from  the  fundamental  principle  of  the 
Disciples'  plea  and  was  manifestly  unauthorized 
and  sinful."  "We  had,"  says  one  of  our  later 
writers,  "turned  our  backs  on  our  own  destiny 
and  were  marching  straight  to  oblivion  and 
decay." 

It  was  at  this  point  in  his  career,  that  Mr. 
Errett  was  destined  to  render  his  most  valuable 
service  to  the  cause  of  primitive  Christianity  as 
the  champion  of  missionary  co-operation.  To 
use  the  language  of  another:  "Underneath  all 
our  mission  work,  State  and  general,  lies  the 
great  principle  of  co-operation.  This  is  the  law 
of  gravitation  in  our  world  of  usefulness,  and 
Mr.  Errett  is  our  Newton.  This  is  the  center  of 
light  and  power  in  millennial  astronomy,  and 
Mr.  Errett  is  our  Copernicus.  To  grasp  strong- 
ly and  clearly  that  principle,  to  wrest  it  from 
spiritual  Saracens,  after  years  of  fierce  battle, 
and  build  about  it  a  great  people,  heirs  to  the 
crown  of  destiny,  this,  by  all  odds,  is  Isaac 
Errett's  greatest  work." 

In  the  earliest  years  of  his  ministry,  he  had 
manifested  a  deep  interest  in  the  work  of  mis- 
sions. Feeling  the  need  of  some  agency  for  the 
extension  of  the  cause  within  the  borders  of  his 
own  State,  he  became  one  of  the  prime  movers 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


191 


in  the  organization  of  the  Ohio  Christian  Mis- 
sionary Society,  which  was  among  the  first 
attempts  at  co-operative  effort  upon  an  extended 
scale,  since  the  dissolution  of  the  old  Mahoning 
Association  of  the  Western  Reserve.  At  a  later 
period  he  was  chosen  Corresponding  Secretary 
of  the  American  Christian  Missionary  Society 
and  rendered  valiant  service  at  a  perilous  time, 
when  many  of  the  leading  brethren  were  sus- 
picious of  the  whole  movement  toward  co-oper- 
ation, fearing  the  re-establishment  of  an  eccle- 
siastical tribunal. 

But  it  is  in  connection  with  the  Foreign  Chris- 
tian Missionary  Society  that  Mr.  Errett's  name 
will  always  be  most  intimately  associated.  As 
he  now  studied  the  needs  of  the  movement  from 
his  vantage  ground  of  knowledge  and  experi- 
ence, he  began  to  feel  that  not  only  the  salva- 
tion of  the  pagan  world,  but  the  salvation  of  the 
church  itself,  demanded  that  we,  who  claim  to 
be  guided  by  the  will  of  the  Master  expressed  in 
his  written  Word,  should  get  in  line  with  God 
in  his  express  design  of  world-wide  evangeliza- 
tion. He  was  sure  that  we  would  never  take  our 
rightful  place  among  the  I'eligious  forces  of  the 
age,  until  we  enlarged  our  plans  of  conquest  so 
as  to  embrace  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  We 
must  be  a  missionary  people  in  the  fullest, 
broadest  sense,  or  tear  down  our  banner  and 
retire  from  the  field. 


192 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


As  eiirly  as  1873,  in  the  coliiinns  of  the  "Chris- 
tian Standard,"  he  advocated  the  Organization 
of  a  society  that  should  turn  its  attention  exclu- 
sively to  the  foreign  field.  In  the  autumn  of 
that  year  he  urged  the  matter  upon  his  brethren 
in  their  National  Assembly.  For  some  reason 
no  action  was  then  taken.  While  men  were 
meditating  ui)()n  his  suggestion,  and  hesitating 
and  wondering  how  it  could  be  done,  Mr.  Errett 
turned  to  the  women.  Here  was  a  great,  unutil- 
ized force.  Their  hearts  were  always  responsive 
to  every  ap[)eal  for  Christian  devotion  and  sac- 
rifice; and  he  urged  that  they  were  capable  of 
great  service  at  this  critical  period.  Quickly  re- 
sponding, the  Christian  Woman's  Board  of  Mis- 
sions was  organized,  and  at  the  General  Conven- 
tion of  the  churches  in  the  autumn  of  1874 
obtained  recognition  as  a  legitimate  agency  "in 
the  great  work  of  sending  the  Gospel  into  all 
the  world,"  and  always  afterward  found  in  Mr. 
Errett  a  friend  and  helper. 

The  climax  of  our  missionary  movement  was 
reached  the  following  year  when  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Socie- 
ty was  effected.  The  annual  convention  had 
met  at  Louisville,  Ky.  Mr.  Errett,  as  President 
for  that  year,  in  his  annual  address,  had  again 
called  the  attention  of  his  brethren  to  the  sub- 
ject that  was  on  his  heart,  reminding  them  that 
"no  people  had  ever  been  blessed  in  their  home 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


193 


enterprises  without  a  foreign  mission arj'  spirit 
and  work."  Others  joined  in  urging  the  for- 
ward movement.  An  earnest  brotherhood  rep- 
resented in  the  convention  heartily  responded. 
The  hour  had  come'.  The  Foreign  ^lissiomuy 
Society  was  born,  and  in  recognition  of  his  ser- 
vice selected  Isaac  Errett  as  President,  a  posi- 
tion which  he  held  until  his  death. 

It  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  for  the  Dis- 
ciples of  Christ,  and  marks  the  period  from 
which  we  may  reckon  their  unprecedented 
growth. 

V.     THE  LAST  YEARS. 

The  purpose  for  which  God  called  Isaac  Errett 
from  the  ranks  of  the  Disciples  was  largely 
accomplished  with  the  organization  of  the  For- 
eign Christian  Missionary  Society.  He  had  "led 
us  out  of  the  bitterness  and  darkness  and  bond- 
age to  a  narrow,  opinionated  legalism,  to  the 
sweetness  and  light  of  the  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  hath  made  us  free;"  and  the  titling 
climax  of  such  a  career  was  to  crj'stallize  the 
energies  of  the  church  for  the  prosecution  of  a 
great  world-embracing  enterprise. 

The  remaining  years,  though  fruitful,  were 
without  incident  that  added  either  to  the  great- 
ness or  the  permanence  of  Mr.  Errett's  fame. 
He  had  reached  the  height  of  his  splendid  career, 

but  fortunatelv  he  was  able  to  niaintain  himself 
13 


194 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


at  that  high  level  to  the  end.  There  was  no 
unhappy  decline,  no  weakening  of  intellectual 
])()\vfrs,  IK)  departure  from  a  lofty  ideal.  He 
had  no  occasion  to  recede  from  the  positions  he 
had  taken,  and  no  reason  to  lament  the  course 
of  events  which  he  had  helped  to  direct.  He 
vontiiuied  to  watch  with  unabated  interest  the 
[)r()grc'ss  of  the  movement  to  which  were  given 
the  best  years  of  his  life,  and  with  pen  and  voice 
gave  such  counsel  as,  in  his  mature  judgment, 
would  lead  to  enlai-goment. 

As  a  writer,  he  continued  to  drive  a  tireless 
pen.  Not  only  were  his  contributions  to  the  edi- 
torial columns  of  the  "Standard"  uninterrupted, 
but  he  was  able  to  add  several  volumes  to  our 
permanent  literature.  It  was  at  this  period 
that,  in  the  (piict  of  the  home,  as  the  shades  of 
evening  gathered  abcnit,  his  mind  turned  afresh 
to  the  Word  of  God,  to  meditate  u[)on  its  mar- 
velous beauty  and  profound  lessons;  and  as  he 
meditated,  to  write  in  his  ))est  style,  the  chapters 
of  "Evenings  with  the  Bible,"  enriching  our  lit- 
erature with  three  splendid  volumes.  It  was  in 
recognition  of  his  Bil)lical  attainments,  as  well 
as  a  compliment  to  the  growing  importance  of 
the  people  whom  he  represented,  that  he  was,  in 
1884,  chosen  a  member  of  the  International 
Sunday-school  Lesson  Committee,  a  position 
which  he  filled  with  credit  until  the  close  of  his 
life. 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


195 


As  a  public  speaker  he  was  continually  in 
demand.  With  the  removal  of  the  "Standard" 
to  Cincinnati  he  had  ceased  to  minister  to  a  con- 
gregation as  pastor,  with  the  exception  of  a 
short  period  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  But  as  the 
servant  of  the  brotherhood  his  talent  was  not 
suffered  to  be  idle.  Conventions,  anniversaries, 
dedicatory  services,  made  large  drafts  upon  his 
strength  and  energy.  No  meeting  of  his  breth- 
ren, in  representative  assemblies,  was  complete 
without  him.  None  were  listened  to  with  greater 
pleasure. 

What  manner  of  man  he  was  as  he  stood  be- 
fore his  brethren  on  great  occasions,  where 
much  was  expected  of  him,  may  be  gathered 
from  the  volume  entitled,  "Linsey-Woolsey  and 
other  Addresses,"  published  a  few  years  after 
his  death.  These  addresses  were  selected  from 
his  best  efforts,  and  covering  a  wide  range  of 
themes — missionary,  literary,  popular — they 
make  a  most  readable  collection.  The  charm  of 
a  great  pex'sonality  and  the  music  of  an  attrac- 
tive voice  are  lacking,  but  the  thoughts  of  a 
great  thinker,  clothed  in  his  best  style,  are 
there. 

As  he  advanced  in  years,  storm-clouds  that 
tripd  the  very  fibre  of  his  faith  and  fortitude 
swept  across  his  path.  From  the  bosom  of  his 
own  family,  those  to  whom  he  looked  for  the 
realization  of  his  highest  parental  hopes,  were 


196 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


juysteriously  taken.  Of  that  stalwart  group 
that  stood  about  him  in  his  earlier  struggles  few 
were  left.  The  innermost  circle  of  his  earthly 
friendships  was  broken  by  the  assassination  and 
death  of  President  Garfield.  Each  new  afflic- 
tion called  from  him  some  new  expression  of  his 
unfaltering  trust  in  the  Divine  Providence;  but, 
in  time,  the  strong  physical  frame  was  shattered 
by  these  repeated  blows,  and  friends  began  to 
feel  that  his  work  was  accomplished. 

But  notwithstanding  his  increasing  infirmity, 
he  continued  to  manifest  a  deep  interest  in  the 
public  enterprises  of  the  church.  As  President 
of  the  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society,  he 
was  its  guiding  spirit.  At  each  annual  gathering 
his  voice  was  heard,  always  urging  the  churches 
to  the  accomplishment  of  larger  things.  What 
changes  he  was  permitted  to  witness  before  he 
laid  down  the  gavel !  The  infant  society,  with- 
out friends,  or  field,  or  a  single  trained  mission- 
ary, grew,  during  the  few  years  in  which  he  was 
permitted  to  share  in  its  counsels,  into  a  strong 
organization  with  mission  stations  planted  in 
many  pagan  lands,  and  scores  of  competent  and 
consecrated  men  and  women  sent  as  torch-bear- 
ers of  truth  to  the  benighted  peoples. 

It  was  in  recognition  of  his  splendid  servjce 
in  the  interest  of  missions,  that  his  friends,  in 
the  autumn  of  1886,  urged  their  beloved  Presi- 
dent to  visit  the  Holy  Land,  generously  provid- 


ISAAC  ERRETT 


197 


ing  for  the  expenses  of  the  cntiro  journey.  Lit- 
tle did  they  dream  that  their  well-meant  kind- 
ness was  to  hasten  the  completion  of  Mr. 
Errett's  career.  Already  sick  and  exhausted, 
the  old  veteran  summoned  all  his  strength  for 
the  journey.  It  was  full  of  interest  for  one 
whose  mind  had  dwelt  continuously  upon  the 
scenes  made  sacred  by  the  Saviour's  foot-prints; 
and  he  determined  that  nothing  of  interest 
should  escape  his  observation,  no  matter  at  what 
cost  of  bodily  exhaustion.  He  saw  with  the 
freshness  of  vision  of  youth,  and  in  his  letters 
to  the  "Standard"  described  with  a  vividness 
that  carried  his  readers  with  him  as  he  traveled 
from  city  to  city  and  land  to  land.  But  the 
overstrain  of  so  extended  and  difficult  a  tour 
was  too  great  for  his  enfeebled  body.  He  re- 
turned to  lay  down  the  burden  of  toil  and 
calmly  await  the  end.  Only  once  again  was  he 
l>ermitted  to  meet  with  his  brethren  in  their 
great  National  Assembly.  Then,  on  December 
19,  1888,  the  end  came,  and  another  of  God's 
prophet  s  had  passed  from  earth. 

Such,  briefly,  is  the  career  of  Isaac  Errett  as 
he  appeared  among  his  brethren  in  the  service  of 
Christ.  He  came  at  a  peculiarly  critical  period 
in  the  history  of  a  religious  movement.  A  peo- 
ple had  been  led  out  of  the  bondage  to  creed 
and  were  painfully  finding  their  way  through  an 
untried  desert.    Before  they  had  come  into  the 


198 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


full  possession  of  the  promised  land  their  Moses 
had  been  taken  from  them.  Isaac  Errett  was 
raised  up  to  be  their  Joshua  to  lead  them  over 
Jordan,  and  it  was  through  his  valiant  leader- 
ship that  they  were  not  overthrown  by  the  Phi- 
listines. 

It  is  not  strange  that  one  of  his  intense  nature 
should  have  made  many  bitter  enemies  as  well  as 
warm  friends.  Some  were  wont  to  almost  regard 
him  as  the  incarnation  of  evil,  others  as  the 
sum  of  all  perfection.  That  he  was  a  man  of 
like  passions  with  ourselves  must  be  conceded; 
but  in  the  calmer  judgment  of  the  future,  I  think 
it  will  be  discovered  that  he  had  few  equals.  "I 
know  of  no  man  among  us,"  writes  the  vener- 
able President  Loos  in  a  private  letter,  "whose 
influence  can  measure  with  that  of  Isaac  Errett. 
This  influence  began  to  become  wide  and  strong 
from  the  day  he  became  editor  of  the  'Christian 
Standard,'  in  1866.  It  was  he,  distinctively 
beyond  othex-s,  who  gave  the  missionary  cause — 
first  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  then  in  the  American 
Christian  Missionary  Society,  and  finally  in  the 
Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society — its  largest 
expansion  and  life," 

In  this  judgment  all  who  are  familiar  with  the 
history  of  the  Disciples  will  concur.  He  was  a 
prince  and  a  leader  among  the  hosts  of  Israel, 
and  his  memory  will  ever  be  precious  to  those 
who  are  devoted  to  the  triumph  of  undenomina- 
tional Christianity. 


13.    \V.  JOHNSON. 


V. 

BARTON  W.  JOHNSON. 


Christ  says,  "Learn  of  me."  No  man  can,  unless  he 
comes  to  the  Great  Teacher  in  a  teacliable  mind.  It  is  a  sac- 
rilege to  approach  the  Sacred  Word  in  order  to  project  into 
it  our  theories  and  to  make  all  bend  before  them.  Only  he 
who  comes  with  the  docility  of  a  little  child  will  be  made  a 
partaker  of  the  secrets  of  Divine  Wisdom.  The  Lord  still 
conceals  great  truths,  from  the  self-opinionated,  wise  and 
prudent,  and  reveals  them  unto  babes.  The  only  state  of  mind 
fit  for  an  investigation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  that  in 
which,  putting  out  of  sight  our  own  wisdom,  we  come,  say- 
ing, "Speak,  Lord,  thy  servant  heareth."— B.  W.  Johnson. 
200 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON. 


I.    YOUTHFUL  LABORS  AXD  AMBITIONS. 

'he  religious  work  begun  by  Alexander  Camp- 


bell and  that  group  of  choice  spirits  that 
gathered  around  him,  in  the  earl}'  years  of  this 
century,  must  have  ultimately  failed  but  for  the 
generation  of  Christian  heroes  that  followed 
and  kept  the  movenient  fro:n  crvet'illizing  into  a 
narrow,  bigoted  sect  on  the  one  hand,  or  from 
surrendering  the  essential  elements  of  Christian 
faith  on  the  other. 

Among  these  disciples  of  Campbell  and  of 
Christ,  whose  guiding  hand  is  seen  in  the  broad- 
ening and  spiritualizing  of  the  Christian  Church, 
were  none  who  threw  themselves  more  unre- 
servedly into  the  cause  than  Barton  W.  Johnson, 
to  whose  memory  this  sketch  is  to  be  devoted. 
Like  most  men  who  have  left  an  impress  for 
good  on  human  society,  his  early  life  was  devel- 
oped amidst  suiToundings  that  called  forth  those 
elements  of  strength  and  courage,  which,  tem- 
pered by  the  refining  influence  of  Christian 
faith,  give  to  character  its  sweetest  charm  and 
greatest  power. 


(201) 


202 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


lu  1832,  near  the  present  town  of  Washing- 
ton, Illinois,  on  one  of  those  charming  spots 
where  primeval  forests  melt  into  waving 
stretches  of  prairie,  a  log-cabin  reared  its  unpre- 
tentious roof  to  shelter  John  and  Martha  John- 
son, as  worthy  a  pair  as  ever  trod  life's  path- 
way together.  Here,  in  October,  1833,  their 
first  born,  Barton  Warren  Johnson,  began  a 
career  which  was  one  of  increasing  usefulness  to 
the  end.  It  seldom  falls  to  the  lot  of  a  boy  to 
possess  a  better  heritage  of  ancestral  worth  than 
he.  His  parents  had  both  been  schooled  in  the 
perils  and  hardships  of  frontier  life  from  early 
childhood.  Together  their  families  had  located 
in  Kastcrn  Illinois  when  the  shelter  of  a  block- 
house was  necessary  to  protect  them  from  raid- 
ing Indians.  Though  far  removed  from  the 
refining  influences  of  polite  society,  they  were 
not  strangers  to  that  school  where  the  highest 
and  noblest  type  of  refinement  is  taught,  the 
school  of  Christ.  The  families  which  composed 
this  little  woild,  the  Johnsons,  tlie  McCorkles, 
the  Ledgerwoods  and  the  Palmers,  were  people 
of  deep  religious  convictions.  They  had,  at  an 
early  day,  espoused  the  cause  advocated  by  Bar- 
tun  W.  Stone,  and  later  follotVed  their  leader  in 
his  union  with  the  reformation  inaugurated  by 
Alexander  Campbell. 

Under  the  fostering  care  of  a  Christian  home, 
the  early  character  of  Barton  Johnson  received 


BARTON  W. JOHNSON 


203 


the  stamp  of  nobility.  From  his  father  he  in- 
herited a  generous,  unselfish  nature;  from  his 
mother,  who  was  a  McCorkle,  and  in  whose 
veins  was  the  blood  of  the  Malcolms  of  Scot- 
land, a  strength  of  character  and  a  determina- 
tion which  never  knew  the  meaning  of  the  word 
"impossible."  When  within  the  space  of  a  few 
months,  in  the  town  of  Washington,  two  new 
church  buildings  had  been  constructed  and  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  succession,  the  entire  congre- 
gation gave  up  in  despair,  with  the  exception  of 
Martha  Johnson,  who,  with  her  unyieldiug  de- 
termination aud  energy,  led  the  way  to  the  suc- 
cessful construction  of  a  third.  This  character- 
istic marks  the  life  of  young  Johnson  froui  his 
earliest  develoi^uient. 

The  struggles  of  this  pioneer  couple  necessa- 
rily placed  heavy  burdens  ui)on  every  memljer  of 
the  family.  At  a  very  tender  age,  Barton  was 
put  to  work  to  aid  in  the  battle  with  hard  neces- 
sity. Work  with  him  was  never  regarded  as  a 
slavish  task,  but  as  an  opportunity  to  share  the 
burdens  of  those  whom  he  loved,  which  was  ever 
his  delight.  He  had  not  reached  his  tenth  sum- 
mer before  he  took  his  place  behind  the  plow, 
and  was  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand  wherever 
it  would  contribute  most  to  the  family  comfort 
and  the  development  of  the  farm.  But  as  his 
young  body  bent  to  the  labor  necessity  had  laid 
upon  him,  he  was  not  unconscious  of  a  thirst 


204 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


within  that  craved  a  hirger  and  fuller  life.  He 
seems  to  have  been  born  with  a  hungry  mind, 
which,  feed  it  as  he  would,  he  was  never  quite 
able  to  satisfy.  His  parents,  recognizing  this 
craving  for  knowledge,  were  ready  to  respond 
^  as  far  as  their  slender  means  an^  narrow  sur- 
roundings would  permit.  They  became  the  lib- 
eral patrons  of  the  schools  of  the  neighborhood, 
and  saw  that  Barton  was  permitted  to  attend 
school  during  the  few  months  which  each  winter 
provided.  Here  his  superior  nature  revealed 
itself  in  the  quickness  with  which  he  mastered 
his  text-books,  and  the  spirit  of  subordination 
which  he  manifested  toward  those  who  had  a 
rightful  claim  to  his  obedience. 

It  is  related  that,  in  accordance  with  a  time- 
honored  custom,  the  pupils  upon  one  occasion 
organized  themselves  to  reduce  to  subjection  a 
teacher  who  had  refused  a  Christmas  treat. 
Young  Johnson  at  tirst  joined  the  rebellion, 
which  barricaded  the  door  of  the  school-room 
against  the  teacher's  entrance.  But  no  sooner 
did  that  functionary  appear  than  the  old  spirit 
of  obedience  gained  the  mastery  in  his  breast, 
and  he  hastened  to  surrender  and  lay  down  arms, 
to  the  mortification  of  his  confederates,  but  to 
the  delight  of  his  teacher. 

The  text-books  of  the  district  school  failed  to 
satisfy  his  desire  for  knowledge.  He  had  some- 
how come  to  believe  that  there  was  a  larger 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


205 


world  of  thought.  Ilis  inquiring  mind  longed  to 
drink  from  the  great  fountain  of  truth  which  he 
became  convinced  must  flow  somewhere.  The 
neighborhood  was,  consequently,  scoured  for 
books,  with  the  result  that  some  choice  volumes 
were  brought  to  his  knowledge.  These  created 
thirst  for  others,  and  as  the  family  resources 
would  allow,  books  were  bought.  Thus,  in 
winter,  the  long  evening  hours  were  spent  por- 
ing over  great  volumes  almost  as  large  as  him- 
self. In  summer,  the  noon  hour  and  other  mo- 
ments of  release  fi"om  labor,  were  devoted  to 
study.  In  this  way,  before  he  was  scarcely  in 
his  teens,  he  read  and  mastered  such  books  as 
Rollin's  History,  Gibbon's  Rome,  Hume's  Eng- 
land, Dick's  Works,  D'Aubigne's  Reformation, 
and  Paradise  Lost,  laying  the  foundation  of  his 
remarkable  historical  knowledge,  which  was, 
through  life,  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  all 
who  knew  him. 

It  once  happened  that  in  the  busiest  part  of 
the  season,  young  Johnson  learned  of  a  set  of 
Gibbon's  "Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire,"  which  he  could  have  the  privilege 
of  borrowing,  volume  at  a  time,  providing 
each  volume  were  returned  at  the  end  of  the 
week.  Such  was  his  industry  that  he  was  able 
to  complete  each  volume  within  the  allotted 
time  until  the  six  had  been  read,  while  at  the 
same  time  making  a  full  hand  in  the  field. 


206 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


While  thus  devoted  to  books,  3'oung  Johnson 
was  not  insensible  to  the  world  about  him,  nor 
without  those  finer  feelings  and  sympathies 
which  give  youth  its  charm.  No  thought  of 
cruelty,  even  to  the  least  of  God's  creatures,  was 
ever  suffered  to  enter  his  heart.  He  was  never 
able  to  enter  into  sports  that  caused  pain,  nor 
could  he  tolerate  it  in  others.  One  evening  as 
he  was  returning  from  school,  he  saw  one  of  his 
schoolmates  sitting  on  the  edge  of  a  bridge  that 
spanned  a  small  stream,  amusing  himself  to  the 
discomfitui-e  of  some  frogs  in  the  water  beneath. 
Barton  watched  the  cruel  sport  for  a  moment, 
then  gave  expression  to  his  indignation  by  shov- 
ing the  boy  into  the  water,  as  a  deserved  pun- 
ishment for  his  heartless  enjoyment. 

As  was  most  fitting  in  a  nature  so  tender,  its 
most  beautiful  expression  Avas  seen  in  his  love 
for  his  mother.  For  her  he  gladly  bore  the 
heavy  burdens,  almost  too  heavy  for  his  tender 
years,  which  circumstances  had  placed  upon  him. 
For  her  be  sought  the  development  of  whatever 
talent  he  possessed.  To  her  his  thoughts  con- 
stantly and  anxiously  turned.  When  separated 
from  her  for  a  season,  he  wrote  in  his  diary:  "I 
have  a  mother  who  knoweth  the  inmost  secrets 
of  my  heart,  and  whom  I  love  better  than  life; 
a  mother,  who  seemeth,  whenever  I  am  with 
her,  to  complete  the  circle  for  which  the  heart 
yearns." 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


207 


It  was  iu  this  boyhood  love  for  mother  and 
youthful  ambition  for  knowledge,  that  the  char- 
acter of  this  friend  and  servant  of  humanity  was 
molded. 

II.    FORMATIVE  INFLUENCES  AND  EFFORTS. 

In  the  early  experience  of  every  life  are  two 
important  decisions — the  one  affecting  character 
and  the  other  determining  its  sphere  of  achieve- 
ment— one's  attitude  toward  religion  and  the 
choice  of  a  vocation, 

With  Barton  Johnson  the  first  of  these  early 
became  the  subject  of  serious  thought.  Sur- 
rounded by  the  inlluences  of  a  Christian  home, 
brought  up  to  respect  and  honor  the  religion  of 
Christ,  the  desire  to  live  a  Christian  life  was 
hardly  absent  from  his  mind  from  his  earliest 
consciousness.  Unlike  the  early  pioneers,  he 
was  not  called  upon  to  grapple  with  the  bewil- 
dering conclusions  of  speculative  theology,  or 
pass  through  months  of  conflict  in  gaining  the 
assurance  of  peace  with  God.  The  story  of  his 
conversion  is,  consequently,  easily  and  briefly 
told.  The  church  to  which  his  parents  belonged 
demanded,  as  a  condition  of  membership,  the 
acceptance  of  a  personal  Savior  through  faith 
and  obedience.  To  these  demands  his  young 
heart  readily  yielded,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
he  determined  to  make  the  personal  surrender  of 
his  life  to  the  authority  and  leadership  of  Christ. 


208 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


Under  the  preaching  of  Father  Palmer,  he 
obeyed  the  Gospel  and  united  with  the  Christian 
Church,  never  for  a  moment  afterward  to  regret 
his  decision,  or  to  question  the  ground  of  his 
faith. 

Soon  after  this,  young  Johnson  was  called 
upon  to  make  another  choice  which  contributed 
largely  to  his  future  usefulness.  He  had  ad- 
vanced to  the  limit  of  the  instruction  afforded 
in  the  district  school,  an  attainment  with  which 
most  young  men  of  his  acquaintance  were  sat- 
isfied. But  through  his  companionship  with 
books  he  had  been  uslicred  within  the  portals  of 
a  new  world  which  he  longed  to  explore.  When, 
therefore,  his  father  offered  him  his  choice  be- 
tween an  eighty-acre  farm  and  a  higher  educa- 
tion, it  did  not  take  him  a  moment  to  decide. 
The  farm  without  an  education  meant  the 
stifling  of  all  his  cravings  and  ambitions.  He 
felt  that  with  the  advantage  of  a  trained  mind 
he  could  eai'u  the  farm  if  he  desired,  and  enjoy 
it  the  better  for  having  brought  himself  into 
communion  witli  the  spirit  of  wisdom. 

His  choice  led  at  once  to  his  matriculation  in 
Walnut  Grove  Academy,  now  Eureka  College. 
Here  for  two  years  he  pursued  his  studies,  amid 
the  rural  surroundings  witli  which  he  was  famil- 
iar and  in  the  companionship  of  kindred  spirits. 
That  he  might  lighten  the  home  burdens,  he 
continued  to  render  what  assistance  he  could, 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


209 


spending  all  his  vacations  and  holidays  in  labor 
on  the  farm.  In  the  busy  season  of  corn-gath- 
ering, he  often  walked  home  the  entire  distance, 
eight  miles,  on  Saturday  morning  before  break- 
fast, that  he  might  be  able  to  join  the  buskers  at 
sunrise  in  the  field,  returning  to  his  studies  Mon- 
day morning. 

It  was  during  these  early  days  of  student  life 
that  the  purpose  of  entering  the  ministry  finally 
took  definite  form.  Without  having  declared 
himself,  he  always  expected  that  he  would 
preach.  That  expectation  was  unexpectedly 
realized  when  he  was  in  his  nineteenth  year. 
During  one  of  his  summer  vacations,  the  home 
church  was  without  a  pastor,  and  one  of  the 
elders,  without  consulting  the  young  man,  an- 
nounced that  on  the  following  Sunday  Barton 
Johnson  would  preach.  It  was  not  in  him  to 
run  from  duty,  so  the  responsibility  thus  thrust 
upon  him  was  accepted.  That  first  sermon  was 
a  marvel  both  in  its  length  and  fidelity  to  the 
Scriptures.  The  theme  selected  was  "Prayer." 
Taking  the  Bible  concordance,  he  gathered  to- 
gether all  the  passages  of  Scriptui'e  to  be  found 
relating  to  the  subject  in  hand,  committed  them 
to  memory,  and  for  nearly  an  hour  and  a  half 
spoke  in  the  words  "which  the  Holy  Ghost 
teacheth,"  without  any  admixture  of  human 
opinion  or  suggestion.    The  sermon  was  not  a 

thrilling  one,  but  the  audience  of  farmers  and 
14 


210 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


neighbors  listened  i)atiently  to  the  end ;  and  the 
young  preacher  had  at  least  made  a  beginning 
and  had  not  lacked  for  material.  From  that 
time  his  ambition  was  to  become  an  effective, 
acceptable  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and  all  his 
energies  were  employed  in  preparing  himself  for 
this  work. 

As  the  course  in  the  academy  was  limited,  it 
was  decided  in  family  council,  in  the  fall  of 
1854,  that  he  should  enjoy  the  larger  advantage 
of  a  college  education.  Bethany  was  at  that 
time  the  Mecca  of  the  Disci])les.  Its  sage  was 
then  in  the  fullness  of  his  power  and  reputation. 
To  sit  at  the  feet  of  Alexander  Campbell  was 
thought  by  his  humble  followers  to  be  the  great- 
est privilege  that  a  young  man  could  enjoy. 
There  was  another  motive  which  led  to  the 
choice  of  Bethany  College  in  this  family  council. 
It  was  that  young  Johnson  might  have  a  wider 
sphere  of  observation  and  acquaintance  than 
the  academy  in  the  woods  afforded.  While  he 
was  well  advanced  in  the  knowledge  of  books, 
his  knowledge  of  the  world  of  fact  was  very 
limited.  The  town  had  not  invaded  the  country, 
as  now;  and  the  country  seldom  went  to  town. 
He  had  never  traveled  more  than  a  few  miles 
from  the  place  of  his  birth.  Rusticity  marked 
his  dress,  his  manner,  his  bearing.  Conscious  of 
lack  in  these  particulars,  he  was  extremely  diffi- 
dent.   But,  if  the  horizon  was  narrow,  the  intel- 


BARTON  \V.  JOHNSON 


211 


lectual  vision  was  nevertheless  clear.  If  his 
appearance  was  awkward,  it  could  not  conceal 
the  generous  sympathies  which  he  cherished,  for 
within  his  homespun  coat  beat  a  noble  heart. 

It  was,  therefore,  no  small  trial,  much  as  he 
thirsted  for  knowledge,  to  tear  himself  away 
from  those  whom  he  knew  and  trusted,  for  a 
journey  so  far  from  home,  and  to  become  the 
associate  of  men  whom  he  regarded  with  almost 
reverential  awe. 

At  Bethany,  he  at  once  took  a  front  rank 
among  the  students.  Entering  the  Junior  year, 
he  was  able  to  complete  his  course  with  distinc- 
tion, dividing  first  honors  with  a  classmate  in  a 
class  of  twenty-seven.  But  it  was  not  so  much 
his  success  in  the  class-room  as  other  distin- 
guishing traits  that  mark  his  college  career. 
His  conscientiousness  and  tenderness  of  heart 
soon  won  him  the  friendship  of  all.  Especially 
the  friendless  among  the  students  found  in  him 
a  sympathizer  and  helper.  He  could  never  stand 
by  and  see  the  weak  imposed  upon.  Though  a 
member  of  the  advanced  classes,  he  always  had 
regard  for  the  lower  class  men,  and  these 
looked  to  him  for  aid  and  protection  in  all  their 
troubles.  At  a  time  when  the  representatives 
of  the  slave  aristocracy,  even  in  a  place  like 
Bethany,  were  asserting  their  claims  to  social 
superiority,  he  was  not  ashamed  to  espouse  the 
cause,  and  rise  in  defense  of,  the  poor  boys  who 


212 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


were  struggling  against  odds  to  secure  an  educa- 
tion. He  was  never  a  patrician.  He  then,  and 
ever  after,  counted  himself  one  of  the  common 
peeple  and  found  in  them  his  warmest  friends. 

But  along  with  his  m.odest,  retiring  manner, 
Barton  W.  Johnson  was  not  unconscious  of  his 
own  powers  or  without  a  high  aim.  Even  as  a 
student  he  had  placed  a  private  estimate  on  him- 
self and  cherished  asjiirations  which,  had  he 
made  them  public,  would  have  smacked  of 
egotism. 

"My  field  is  the  world,"  he  writes  in  his  diary, 
"and  did  it  not  savor  of  egotism  I  would  record 
the  fond  aspiration  that  the  world  will  be  the 
better  off  for  my  existence.  But  bear  in  mind, 
reader,  if  ever  a  stranger's  eye  looks  upon  this 
thought-record,  that  it  is  intended  for  me  alone. 
If  I  am  egotistical,  it  is  private  egotism." 

This  was  true  of  him  through  life.  Conscious 
of  his  own  mental  strength  and  resources,  ani- 
mated by  a  desire  to  save  his  race,  he  was,  how- 
ever, never  heard  to  speak  in  his  own  praise  or 
known  to  thrust  himself  into  prominence.  He 
literally  took  the  lowest  seat  in  the  assemblies 
of  his  brethren.  When  the  call  came  to  him  to 
render  some  public  service,  he  never  shrank 
from  the  responsibility,  but  he  never  sought  dis- 
tinction. 

Following  his  graduation  at  Bethany,  in  1856, 
the  first  thought  of  the  student  was  to  find  a 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


213 


footliold  ill  tlic  world  he  was  to  serve.  He  had 
already  fully  deteniiiiu'd  upon  the  ministry  as 
his  ultimate  field  of  labor.  But  the  pulpit  did 
not  then  provide  for  the  support  of  the  preacher 
as  now;  nor  was  the  young  and  inexperienced 
candidate  for  the  ministry  the  special  favorite  of 
churches  that  had  been  built  up  by  the  veterans 
of  the  reformatory  movement.  Forty  years  ago 
but  few  churches  among  the  Discijiles  in  the 
West  were  able  to  support  the  man  who  min- 
istered to  them  in  spiritual  things.  Most 
preachers  were  compelled  to  supplement  their 
meager  salaries  by  labor  in  other  fields.  Many, 
like  Paul,  labored  with  their  own  hands  to  sup- 
ply their  necessities,  which  in  those  days  of 
"plain  living  and  high  thinking"  were  never 
great.  Those  who  had  enjoyed  sufficient  educa- 
tional advantages  found  easy  access  to  the 
school-room,  where  they  taught  during  the  week, 
while  ministering  to  some  needy  congregation  on 
Sunday. 

It  thus  happened  that  Barton  Johnson,  while 
unwavering  in  his  determination  to  preach  the 
Word,  sought,  upon  leaving  college,  a  situation 
as  teacher,  as  a  means  of  earning  his  support 
while  he  preached  the  Gospel  to  those  who  were 
either  too  poor,  or  too  indifferent,  to  sustain  a 
settled  pastor.  A  promising  opening  for  a  pri- 
vate school  having  been  found  in  Bloomington, 
Illinois,  he  determined  to  make  his  start  in  life 


214 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


in  that  place,  and  in  the  fall  of  1856,  having  re- 
ceived assurances  of  a  liberal  patronage,  he 
entered  the  school-room. 

A  glance  at  the  young  man  who  then  stood  on 
the  threshold  of  his  career,  will  reveal  the 
secret  of  his  later  success.  He  had  just  com- 
pleted his  twenty-third  year.  By  dint  of  hard 
study  and  untiring  application,  he  had  made 
himself  the  master,  not  only  of  the  subjects 
taught  in  college,  but  of  a  wide  range  of  knowl- 
edge. To  this  fullness  of  knowledge,  he  added 
a  deep  seriousness  of  purpose,  which  character- 
ized all  his  undertakings.  This  element  of  iiis 
nature,  the  predominating  one  through  life,  is 
continually  portrayed  in  the  thought-pictures 
which  he  has  left  of  himself  at  this  period.  He 
lived  in  continuous  touch  with  the  Infinite,  and 
found  help  in  Him  when  all  else  failed. 

After  a  day  of  trial  and  discouragement  in 
the  school-room,  he  writes  in  his  journal:  "The 
gloom  has  been  dispelled  by  the  rays  of  light 
and  enjoyment  concentrated  on  my  mind,  by  an 
evening's  study  of  the  Scripture."  Then  as  he 
felt  oppressed  by  the  sin  and  folly  of  society, 
his  mind  would  turn  toward  the  golden  dawn  of 
the  world's  better  day,  and  he  would  write: 
"God  grant  that  ere  long  sin  and  sorrow  may 
cease,  and  Jesus  and  joy  unalloyed  may  come. 
May  I  live  to  see  the  day!  Savior,  hasten  thine 
appearing.    The  hoUowncss,  the  sinfulness,  the 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


215 


sadness  of  earth  make  me  grow  heart-sick  and 
sigh  for  the  joyous  period  when  all  will  be  pure 
and  holy  and  happy.  Let  me,  let  all  mine,  keep 
their  lamps  trimmed  and  burning,  for  we  know 
not  what  hour  the  Bridegroom  cometh." 

At  all  times  he  cherished  the  laudable  ambi- 
tion of  making  himself  worthy  of  the  calling  he 
had  chosen.  Feeling  the  need  of  stricter  self- 
discipline  he  drew  up  these  rules  for  his  guid- 
ance: "Whereas  I  wish,  to  elevate  m3'self  intel- 
lectually, morally,  spiritually,  since  I  am  not 
satisfied  with  my  effort  or  my  advancement, 
Kesolved,  1st.  That  I  will  rise  every  morning 
before  five  o'clock.  2d.  That  I  will  refrain  from 
all  reading,  the  object  of  which  is  present  pleas- 
ure. 3d.  That  I  will  devote  my  time  to  three 
departments  of  study — history,  connected  with 
the  Bible,  nature  and  revelation.  4th.  That  I 
will  often  ask  the  assistance  and  direction  of 
God,  from  whom  I  must  derive  all  my  strength." 

Most  beautiful,  too,  was  his  devotion  to  his 
mother.  "What  a  blessing  to  me,"  he  writes 
among  his  thought-pictures,  "is  and  has  been  my 
mother.  I  should  not  repine,  but  thank  God 
that  he  has  thus  blessed  me."  Again,  "I  have 
felt  a  little  homesick  and  would  go  home  to- 
morrow, if  I  could.  Would  that  I  could  always 
have  my  mother  with  me.  May  God  long  pre- 
serve her." 

It  was  at  this  early  period,  while  the  soul  was 


216 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


working  out  its  first  .serious  problems,  that  an 
invitation  came  to  Mr.  Johnson  to  embark  upon 
an  enterprise  that  was  ultimately  to  become  his 
life-work.  He  was  offered  the  editorship  of  the 
"Evangelist,"  a  little  monthly  devoted  to  the  de- 
fense of  primitive  Christianity,  then  struggling 
for  existence.  While  a  boy  on  the  farm  he  had 
frequently  contributed  to  the  columns  of  the 
county  paper,  and  had  shown  decided  talent  as  a 
writer,  but  he  felt  that  the  time  was  not  yet,  and 
declined  editorial  honors. 

Meanwhile,  his  work  in  the  school-room  and 
in  the  pulpits  of  neighboring  churches,  where  he 
preached  on  Sundays,  engaged  all  his  energies. 
His  education  and  talent  soon  l)rought  him  as  many 
pupils  as  he  could  look  after.  While  many  were 
serious  young  people,  seeking  to  fit  themselves  for 
usefulness,  a  few  were  incorrigibles  frona  the  pub- 
lic schools,  who,  under  his  power  as  a  disciplina- 
rian, were  soon  reduced  to  subjection  and  proved 
in  the  end  some  of  his  brightest  scholars.  Of 
the  young  men  who  came  under  the  touch  of 
his  master-mind  in  that  school,  several  afterward 
attained  distinction,  two  became  members  of 
Congress,  and  one  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States. 

The  most  important  result  of  that  winter's 
school,  so  far  as  his  own  future  was  concerned, 
was  the  choice  of  one  who  should  share  his 
labors  and  sacrifices.    He  soon  discerned,  among- 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


217 


that  company  of  bright  young  men  and  women, 
one  more  interesting  than  the  rest.  The  attach- 
ment in  time  became  stronger  than  that  of 
teacher  and  pupil,  and  ended  in  his  marriage,  in 
the  summer  of  1858,  to  Sarah  Allen,  to  whom  he 
always  generously  ascribed  much  of  his  success 
in  the  service  of  Christ. 

It  required  no  prophetic  vision  to  predict  for 
the  young  teacher  a  successful  career  as  an  in- 
structor, had  he  chosen  the  school  as  his  field. 
So  remarkable  was  the  success  of  his  educa- 
tional venture  that  he  was  offered  the  superin- 
tendency  of  the  schools  of  the  city,  if  he  would 
remain.  But  the  young  man  had  other  plans. 
"It  seems  to  me,"  he  wrote  in  his  journal,  "that 
my  mission  cannot  be  fulfilled  in  this  contracted 
sphere."  Feeling  that  his  life  should  be  more 
thoroughly  devoted  to  the  brotherhood  with 
which  he  had  early  cast  his  lot,  deeply  interested 
in  the  triumph  of  the  cause  that  was  dear  to  his 
heart,  he  turned  his  back  upon  the  flattering 
offers  made  him  for  a  professorship  in  Eureka 
College,  where  he  received  in  compensation  for 
his  first  year's  service  a  salary  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.  But  the  decision  and  the  sac- 
rifices attending  it  he  never  regretted,  since  it 
enabled  him  to  throw  his  strength  unreservedly 
into  the  work  of  human  redemption,  both  as  a 
preacher  and  an  instructor  of  preachers,  in  which 


218 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


positions  he  was  eminently  successful,  accom- 
plishing an  inestimable  amount  of  good. 

III.    FRUITS  OF  THE  EARLY  HARVEST. 

Dui'ing  Mr.  Johnson's  early  prime,  his  ener- 
gies were  divided  between  teaching  and  preach- 
ing. It  would  have  been  difficult  to  have  deter- 
mined to  which  department  of  labor  he  belonged, 
so  unreservedly  was  he  devoted  to  each,  always 
carrying  on  the  work  of  two  men,  and  almost 
from  the  beginning  bearing  his  burden  upon 
shoulders  that  were  weakened  by  ill  health.  Ex- 
cessive study  while  in  college  and  excessive  labor 
afterward,  early  left  him  the  victim  of  disease, 
and  nothing  but  an  indomitable  energy  kept  him 
at  work. 

Having  accepted  the  chair  of  mathematics  in 
Eureka  College,  Mr.  Johnson  at  once  demon- 
strated his  fitness  for  the  position  by  the  thor- 
oughness of  his  instruction  and  by  the  enthusiasm 
he  created  in  the  minds  of  his  students.  He  had 
the  faculty  of  inspiring  those  who  came  under 
his  influence  with  his  own  pure  and  lofty  ambi- 
tion, and  quickening  in  them  an  aspiration  to 
be  of  service  to  the  race.  Many  who  have  since 
become  leaders  in  various  lines  of  human  bene- 
faction, generously  acknowledge  their  indebted- 
ness to  him  for  the  first  impulses  to  this  larger 
service.  Says  one  who  sat  in  his  class-room  at 
this  early  period:    "In  the  early  da3's  of  Eurek  i 


BARTON  W. JOHNSON 


219 


College,  B.  W.  Johnson  was  my  teacher,  and  his 
home  for  a  considerable  time  was  in  my  father's 
house.  I  knew  him  well,  and  his  life  and  influ- 
ence were  every  way  helpful.  His  robust  faith 
and  reverent  piety,  his  lofty  aim  and  earnest 
endeavor,  his  pure  and  noble  life,  abide  as  a 
delightful  aroma  of  these  fast-receding  days." 

Another  of  his  students,  who  has  since  attained 
national  distinction,  writes:  "He  was  my  teacher 
from  1859  to  1861.  He  was  a  good  teacher. 
After  leaving  Eureka  College,  not  being  able  to 
complete  the  course,  he  spoke  words  to  me  of 
wisdom,  tenderness  and  good  cheer,  which  have 
gone  with  me  all  these  j'ears.  I  am  greatly  in 
debt  to  B.  W.  Johnson."  Such  was  the  recog- 
nized ability  of  the  young  educator,  that  after  a 
few  sessions  he  was  promoted  to  the  presidency 
of  the  institution,  to  succeed  Chas.  Louis  Loos, 
upon  the  resignation  of  the  latter.  To  this  new 
position  of  responsibility  his  splendid  executive 
ability  had  especially  fitted  him,  and  under  his 
wise  management,  until  the  storm  of  civil  war 
made  havoc  of  all  peaceful  enterprises,  the  insti- 
tution flourished. 

But  if  his  influence  was  a  benediction  in  the 
school-room,  it  was  not  less  so  in  his  relation  to 
the  church.  During  most  of  the  period  of  his 
residence  at  Eureka,  he  preached  for  the  church 
at  that  place,  sharing  the  labors  and  responsi- 
bility of  tlie  pastorate,  much  of  the  time,  with 


220 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


other  meiiibers  of  the  faculty.  In  the  pulpit  he 
was  looked  upon  as  a  nuin  of  more  than  ordinary 
talent.  As  a  preacher,  he  possessed  a  power 
which  was  peculiar  to  himself.  He  was  never  an 
orator,  and  was  lacking  in  many  of  the  graces  we 
have  come  to  couple  with  pulpit  eloquence.  In 
manner  and  gesture  there  was  an  element  of 
awkwardness  which  he  was  never  able  to  master. 
In  his  delivery  he  paid  little  regard  to  elocution- 
ary effect.  But  there  was  a  genuineness  in  his 
v^hole  bearing,  and  a  peculiar  magnetic  power  in 
his  expressive  eyes  as  they  swept  a  congregation, 
that  riveted  and  held  the  attention  of  all. 

It  was  when  he  spoke,  however,  that  his  power 
over  an  audience  became  irresistible.  He  never 
talked  commonplace.  He  always  had  something 
to  say  wortli  listening  to.  He  was  a  reader,  and 
always  came  to  his  task  with  a  full  mind.  He 
was  an  observer,  and  was  able  so  to  mingle  the 
fruit  of  his  observation  with  the  treasures  of  his 
library  as  never  to  seem  bookish.  He  was  a 
thinker,  and  every  sentence  that  fell  from  his 
lips  was  molded  in  a  brain  whose  ideas  flowed  as 
clear  as  crystal.  Thus  his  sermons,  while  rich  in 
scrii)tural  and  historical  truths  and  illustrations, 
were  always  fresh,  practical  and  helpful.  His 
great  literary  attainment,  his  quick  perception, 
his  practical  wisdom,  his  deep  earnestness,  his 
painstaking  preparation,  his  unquestioning  faith, 
and  his  unwavering  loyalty  to  the  ^^^)rd,  soon 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


221 


won  him  a  recognized  place  as  a  strong  Gospel 
preacher. 

It  was  at  this  busy,  trying  period  that  Mr. 
Johnson  demonstrated  his  ability  as  a  man  of 
affairs,  laying  the  foundation  of  the  competence 
which  he  ever  afterward  enjoyed.  Notwith- 
standing the  meagerness  of  his  salary  and  the 
throes  of  a  financial  panic  that  swept  the  coun- 
try, by  dint  of  industry  and  economy,  in  which 
his  young  wife  became  an  equal  partner,  he  man- 
aged to  build  and  pay  for  a  comfortable  home, 
which  became  the  nucleus  of  later  acquisitions 
and  enabled  him  to  dispense  with  a  liberal  hand 
to  every  worthy  enterprise. 

In  the  summer  of  1863,  Mr.  Johnson,  after  a 
half  dozen  years  of  faithful  service  as  instructor, 
determined  to  change  his  field  of  labor.  That 
year  presents  one  of  the  darkest  points  in  our 
moral  history.  The  smoke  of  conflict  covered 
the  land.  The  success  of  the  Union  was  almost 
despaired  of.  In  the  hour  of  public  calamity 
young  men,  who  had  planned  for  themselves  a 
career  of  learning,  abandoned  the  school-room 
for  the  defense  of  the  common  cause.  The  col- 
lege halls  were  deserted.  In  this  hour  of  trial 
none  suffered  more  than  the  brave,  struggling 
young  college  of  the  Disciples  of  Illinois. 

While  Mr.  Johnson  was  pondering  what  course 
to  pursue,  a  call  came  to  him  to  become  the  (Cor- 
responding Secretary  of  the  American  Christian 


222 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


Misfeionary  Society.  Though  questioning  his  fit^ 
ness  for  the  work,  he  determined  to  make  the 
trial.  At  a  period  when  many  of  the  leaders 
among  the  Disciples  were  turning  their  faces 
upon  their  destiny,  and  throwing  obstructions  in 
the  way  of  missionary  progress,  he  was  enthusi- 
astic in  his  support  of  any  aggressive  movement 
that  would  win  the  world  speedily  to  Christ. 
Throwing  himself  with  his  great  energy  into  the 
work  in  hand,  he  was  able,  during  his  year's 
service,  to  lift  the  cause  out  of  the  debt  into 
which  it  had  fallen,  and  to  put  new  vigor  into 
the  missionary  agencies  of  the  church.  He  was 
re-elected 'Corresponding  Secretary,  and  urged 
to  continue  in  the  service  of  the  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, but  a  call  coming  from  his  Alma  Mater,  he 
resigned  to  accept  the  chair  of  mathematics  in 
Bethany  College.  Here  he  enjoyed  fellowship 
with  the  illustrious  founder  and  president  of  the 
college,  now  noaring  the  end  of  his  eventful 
career,  and  maintained  his  reputation  as  a 
scholar  and  educator. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Campbell's  death,  in  1866,  he 
returned  to  the  West.  Having  accepted  the 
pastorate  of  the  church  at  Lincoln,  Illinois,  he 
now,  for  the  first  time,  devoted  himself  exclusive- 
ly to  the  ministry  of  the  Word.  Here,  though 
but  little  past  thirty,  he  seemed  to  be  nearing 
the  end  of  his  labors.  Ill  health  crippled  his 
every  endeavor.    But,  with  inborn  energy  and 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


223 


an  abiding  faith,  he  persevered,  often  preaching 
with  remarkable  fervor  when  he  had  scarce!}- 
strength  enough  to  stand  before  his  audience. 
Thus,  through  pain  and  weakness,  he  was  able, 
during  his  two  years'  pastorate,  to  achieve  a 
degree  of  success  that  endeared  him  to  all  his 
people. 

Recovering  in  some  measure  his  health,  Mr. 
Johnson's  restive  spirit  was  not  content  with  the 
circumscribed  field  of  his  pastorate.  He  felt 
himself  capable  of  greater  labor  and  was  con- 
scious of  unusual  talents.  When,  therefore,  in 
the  summer  of  1869,  a  call  came  to  him  to  the 
presidency  of  Oskaloosa  College  and  the  pastor- 
ate of  the  church,  then  one  of  the  strongest  in 
the  State  of  Iowa,  he  promptly  accepted  the 
position.  Here  for  three  years  he  performed 
the  double  labor  of  instructor  and  preacher. 
Here  success  constantly  attended  his  efforts  in 
both  fields  of  activity. 

The  young  college  over  which  he  presided, 
reached  the  climax  of  its  prosperity  during  his 
administration.  Hundreds  of  students  were 
drawn  together  by  his  influence  and  reputation. 
His  class-room  was  always  crowded.  He  pos- 
sessed the  rare  faculty  of  creating  an  enthusiasm 
for  knowledge,  and  the  power  of  so  imparting 
instruction  as  to  forever  fix  the  truth  in  the 
mind  of  the  learner. 

His  pulpit,  too,  was  made  to  reflect  the  best 


222 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


Missionary  Society.  Though  questioning  his  fit- 
ness for  the  work,  he  determined  to  make  the 
trial.  At  a  period  when  many  of  the  leaders 
among  the  Disciples  were  turning  their  faces 
upon  their  destiny,  and  throwing  obstructions  in 
the  way  of  missionary  progress,  he  was  enthusi- 
astic in  his  support  of  any  aggressive  movement 
that  would  win  the  world  speedily  to  Christ. 
Throwing  himself  with  his  great  energy  into  the 
work  in  hand,  he  was  able,  during  his  year's 
service,  to  lift  the  cause  out  of  the  debt  into 
which  it  had  fallen,  and  to  put  new  vigor  into 
the  missionary  agencies  of  the  church.  He  was 
re-elected 'Corresponding  Secretary,  and  urged 
to  continue  in  the  service  of  the  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, but  a  call  coming  from  his  Alma  Mater,  he 
resigned  to  accept  the  chair  of  mathematics  in 
Bethany  College.  Here  he  enjoyed  fellowship 
with  the  illustrious  founder  and  president  of  the 
college,  now  nearing  the  end  of  his  eventful 
career,  and  maintained  his  reputation  as  a 
scholar  and  educator. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Campbell's  death,  in  1866,  he 
returned  to  the  West.  Having  accepted  the 
pastorate  of  the  church  at  Lincoln,  Illinois,  he 
now,  for  the  first  time,  devoted  himself  exclusive- 
ly to  the  ministry  of  the  Word.  Here,  though 
but  little  past  thirty,  he  seemed  to  be  nearing 
the  end  of  his  labors.  Ill  health  crippled  his 
every  endeavor.    But,  with  inborn  energy  and 


BARTON  \V.  JOHNSON 


223 


an  abiding  fiiith,  he  persevered,  often  preachiug 
with  remarkable  fervor  when  he  had  scarcel}' 
strength  enough  to  stand  before  his  audience. 
Thus,  through  pain  and  weakness,  he  was  able, 
during  his  two  years'  pastorate,  to  achieve  a 
degree  of  success  that  endeared  him  to  all  his 
people. 

Recovering  in  some  measure  his  health,  Mr. 
Johnson's  restive  spirit  was  not  content  with  the 
circumscribed  field  of  his  pastorate.  He  felt 
himself  capable  of  greater  labor  and  was  con- 
scious of  unusual  talents.  When,  therefore,  in 
the  summer  of  1869,  a  call  came  to  him  to  the 
presidency  of  Oskaloosa  College  and  the  pastor- 
ate of  the  church,  then  one  of  the  strongest  in 
the  State  of  Iowa,  he  promptly  accepted  the 
position.  Here  for  three  years  he  performed 
the  double  labor  of  instructor  and  preacher. 
Here  success  constantly  attended  his  efforts  in 
both  fields  of  activity. 

The  young  college  over  which  he  presided, 
reached  the  climax  of  its  prosperity  during  his 
administration.  Hundreds  of  students  were 
drawn  together  by  his  influence  and  reputation. 
His  class-room  was  always  crowded.  He  pos- 
sessed the  rare  faculty  of  creating  an  enthusiasm 
for  knowledge,  and  the  power  of  so  imparting 
instruction  as  to  forever  fix  the  truth  in  the 
mind  of  the  learner. 

His  i)ulpit,  too,  was  made  to  reflect  the  best 


224 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


thought  of  his  time;  and  here  he  was  able  to 
accomplish,  what  is  within  the  power  of  but  few 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  to-day,  the  building  up 
of  a  prosperous,  spiritual  church  by  the  mo- 
mentum of  his  pulpit  effort,  unaided  by  house 
to  house  labor. 

But  the  intellectual  and  physical  strain  of 
such  aa  effort, — preaching  two  sermons  each 
week  that  were  replete  with  thought  and  wis- 
dom, and  throwing  his  energy  into  the  work 
of  the  class-room  five  of  the  remaining  days, 
besides  attending  to  the  multiplied  concerns  of 
college  and  church, — were  too  much  for  his  deli- 
cate organism,  and  he  was  compelled  to  surren- 
der the  one  or  the  other  of  his  positions,  or 
abandon  the  field  altogether.  Finding,  as  he 
ever  did,  his  keenest  delight  in  preaching  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ,  he  turned  to  the 
pulpit  and  continued  for  several  years  as  pastor 
of  the  church.  This  closed  forever  his  career  as 
teacher  in  the  class-room,  though  he  never 
ceased  to  be  the  teacher  of  a  many  times  larger 
constituency  that  looked  to  him  for  instruction. 
Throughout  his  life  he  continued  to  manifest  a 
deep  interest  in  young  people  and  their  intellec- 
tual aspirations. 

It  was  about  this  time  the  writer  first  formed 
the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Johnson,  which, 
through  his  deep  interest  in  young  men,  was 
cemented  into  lasting  friendship.    I  shall  never 


BARTON  \V.  JOHNSON 


225 


forget  how  as  a  student,  then  startlingly  ignor- 
ant of  the  great  world  of  letters,  and  j-et  hun- 
grily gazing  at  the  crowded  shelves  of  an  enter- 
prising bookseller's  shop,  he  came  in  and  paused 
before  the  trembling  youth  to  inquire  of  his  in- 
tellectual desires,  and  to  offer  a  few  helpful 
suggestions  as  regarded  the  course  of  reading  to 
pursue,  and  then  passed  on.  In  that  brief  inter- 
view he  touched  a  chord  that  never  ceased  to 
respond  to  his  kindly  interest. 

This  interest  he  was  constantly  manifesting 
toward  all.  He  had  an  instinct  for  the  discov- 
ery of  a  young  man  or  woman  with  an  aspira- 
tion, as  true  and  unerring  as  the  scent  of  a 
trained  fox-hound;  and  having  found  the  object 
of  his  search,  he  was  always  able  to  fire  with 
hope  and  fan  into  zeal  a  high  and  holy  passion 
for  achievement.  In  this  way,  as  pastor,  he  was 
able  to  gain  a  strong  hold  upon  the  young  mem- 
bers of  his  flock.  It  was  not  the  result  of  any 
affected  cordiality,  or  sentimental  friendship, 
but  of  an  unfeigned  interest  in  their  plans  and 
purposes,  their  aims  and  ambitions. 

In  this  work,  the  center  of  power  and  influ- 
ence, next  to  the  pulpit,  was  his  study,  where, 
surrounded  by  his  books,  he  was  always  most  at 
home,  and  greatest  because  freed  from  the  em- 
barrassments which  he  always  keenly  felt  in 
assemblies.    He  was  never  so  happy  as  when 

thus  surrounded,  helping  to  solve  some  intricate 
15 


226 


MEX  OP  VESTERDAY 


prol)lem  for  another,  or  ^iointing  the  way  out  of 
t^ome  difficult  situation,  or  unbosoming  himself 
of  the  rich  treasures  of  his  own  mind  for  the 
instruction  of  his  friends,  or  in  aiding  in  the 
selection  of  some  book  that  would  especially  fit 
the  need  of  the  young  mind  and  satisfy  its 
thirsting. 

As  pastor,  in  the  modern  sense,  lie  might, 
during  those  busy  days,  have  been  regarded  as 
a  failure  by  some.  The  figures  representing  the 
number  of  calls  upon  his  parishioners  would  not 
have  looked  well  in  an  annual  report.  He  had 
a  very  meager  stock  of  small  talk  and  was  not 
much  disposed  to  run  from  house  to  house  to 
pass  the  time  of  day.  But  somehow  he  gradual- 
ly knit  the  heart-strings  of  his  people  into  the 
fabric  of  his  achievement,  and  his  own  hearth- 
stone became  the  center  of  the  religious  life  of 
the  church.  If  he  made  few  calls,  many  were 
the  calls  he  received  from  those  seeking  help  or 
counsel,  and  hearty  was  the  welcome  always 
accorded  them,  and  strong  and  lasting  were  the 
friendships  thus  cemented.  One  needed  to  know 
him  to  discover  the  warmth  and  tenderness  of 
his  nature.  To  the  casual  acquaintance  he  may 
have  seemed  stern  and  unsocial,  but  when  once 
the  barrier  of  his  diffidence  was  melted  away  by 
closer  fellowship,  never  was  nature  more  cordial 
than  his.  Nor  was  his  friendship  restricted  by 
artificial  social  lines.    His  own  retiring  manner 


BARTON  \V.  JOHNSON 


227 


seemed  to  inspire  a  confidence  which  encour- 
aged the  lowliest  of  Christ's  disciples  to  come 
to  him  as  a  friend.  While  scholarship  and  cul- 
ture loved  and  admired  him,  and  he  appreciated 
nothing  so  much  as  the  fellowship  of  these  con- 
genial spirits,  the  ignorant  and  poor  were  drawn 
to  him,  and  he  never  felt  himself  too  wise,  or 
found  himself  too  busy,  to  bestow  upon  them 
the  best  of  thought  and  resources  at  his  com- 
mand. 

I  have  dwelt  somewhat  minutely  upon  this 
characteristic  of  his  ministry,  during  his  pastor- 
ate in  Oskaloosa,  because  it  reveals  the  charac- 
ter of  the  man  in  all  his  life-work.  At  first  he 
was  admired  because  of  his  scholarship,  then 
loved  because  of  his  unselfish  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  his  people;  and  he  never  labored  in 
a  field  where  his  removal  was  not  regretted,  and 
where  he  would  not  gladly  have  been  welcomed 
back  at  any  time.  Thus  at  Oskaloosa,  De  Soto, 
Iowa,  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  where  he  labored 
at  different  times  and  under  varying  circum- 
stances, he  left  congregations  that  revered  and 
loved  him  as  a  father,  and  that  are  still  disposed 
to  associate  their  happiest  experiences  with  his 
memory. 

IV.    IN  LABORS  MURK  ABUNDAXT. 

We  have  now  traced  the  career  of  Mr.  John- 
son through  what,  in  view  of  his  later  achieve- 


228 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


ments,  might  be  termed  its  preparatory  stages. 
Hitherto  his  labors  had  been  limited,  circum- 
scribed. The  class-room,  the  congregation 
marked  the  boundaries  of  his  field.  He  was 
considerably  past  forty,  when,  in  1877,  a  new 
field  of  service  opened  to  hitn,  in  a  call  to  be- 
come the  editor  of  "The  Evangelist,"  then  pub- 
lished in  Oskaloosa.  In  accepting  the  position 
of  editor,  he  was  compelled  to  relinquish  a  suc- 
cessful pastorate  in  DeSoto,  Iowa,  where  he  had 
endeared  himself  to  the  people,  and  passed  from 
the  service  of  a  congregation  to  the  service  of 
the  brotherhood. 

To  this  new  field  of  lalior  he  brought  the  ele- 
ments of  success.  These  were  his  untiring 
energy,  his  unlimited  capacity  for  work,  his 
unfaltering  faith,  his  indomitable  courage,  his 
wealth  of  learning,  his  clearness  of  vision,  his 
practical  common  sense.  But  perhaps  his  most 
conspicuous  characteristic  was  a  happy  combina- 
tion of  conservatism  and  progressiveness  which 
kept  him,  like  the  skillful  old  mariners,  when 
sailing  between  Scylla  and  Charybdis,  from 
danger  in  either  direction. 

The  beginning  of  his  editorial  career  marks 
one  of  those  epochs  in  the  history  of  the  church, 
when  everything  depended  upon  the  wisdom  of 
the  men  at  the  helm.  It  was  the  period  when 
the  conflict  over  the  organ,  Sunday-schools,  mis- 
sionary  measures    and    kindred    questions  of 


BARTON  \V.  JOHNSON 


229 


expedieiu'v  was  still  troubling  the  churches. 
Isaac  Errett,  in  the  "Christian  Standard,"  had 
thrown  himself  with  his  great  strength  into  the 
cause  of  a  more  liberal,  progressive  movement, 
while  Benjamin  Franklin,  in  the  "American 
Christian  Review,"  became  the  apostle  of  con- 
servatism, branding  as  an  unscriptural  innova- 
tion every  expediency  which  had  not  been  in  use 
among  the  early  Christians.  Mr.  Johnson, 
while  pleading  through  the  columns  of  "The 
Evangelist"  for  the  broader  liberty  in  matters 
of  expediency,  at  the  same  time  was  so  true  to 
the  express  commands  of  the  Word  and  so  clear 
in  his  presentation  of  the  essential  elements  of 
Christian  faith  and  practice  as  taught  by  tlie 
fathers,  that  he  was  always  held  in  esteem,  as 
one  "sound  in  the  faith,"  even  by  those  who 
differed  with  him  upon  questions  of  church 
polity  and  measures  of  church  progress. 

"The  Evangelist,"  at  once,  became  the  ex- 
ponent of  truth  as  applied  to  the  daily  lives  of 
Christ's  followers.  It  sought  to  become  a  family 
companion  rather  than  an  ecclesiastical  measur- 
ing-machine. In  realizing  this  ideal,  Mr.  John- 
son was  among  the  fir>t  to  attompt  to  interpret 
the  events  of  the  day  in  the  light  of  their  moral 
and  religious  bearing,  and  to  denounce  with  all 
the  fervor  of  a  prophet  examples  of  unright- 
eousness, whether  in  social,  political  or  religious 
life.    His  "Current  Events,"  in  which  he  pro- 


230 


MEN  OP  YESTERDAY 


nounced  his  judgment  on  living  issues,  was  con- 
sulted as  a  moral  barometer  by  thousands  of  his 
readers. 

As  the  influence  and  scope  of  "The  Evangel- 
ist" widened,  Mr.  Johnson  and  his  co-laborers 
determined  upon  the  hazardous  experiment  of 
transplanting  it  in  some  center  where  better 
facilities  might  be  enjoyed  and  a  larger  field 
made  tributary  to  its  support.  Chicago  was 
selected  as  presenting  the  greatest  number  of 
advantages,  and  from  that  city,  in  the  autumn  of 
1879,  the  paper  greeted  its  readers.  The  change 
proved  a  profitable  one  to  pul)lishers  and  editor; 
but  the  great  strain  of  such  an  undertaking  and 
the  anxieties  connected  with  the  work  again 
proved  too  much  for  Mr.  Johnson's  strength. 
His  health  gave  way  and  he  was  compelled  for  a 
few  months  to  relinquish  his  labors;  but  a  win- 
ter spent  among  the  orange  groves  and  beneath 
the  sunny  skies  of  Florida,  enabled  hmito  return 
to  his  work  with  renewed  energy. 

It  was  during  his  early  experiences  as  editor 
that  he  first  ventured  to  put  the  result  of  his 
study  in  book  form.  For  years  he  had  been  at- 
tracted by  the  wonderful  charm  of  the  Book  of 
Revelation.  His  diligent  study  of  the  Scripture 
and  his  rich  historical  knowledge  enabled  him 
to  work  out  the  meaning  of  the  weird  symbolism 
of  the  book,  and  to  trace  its  fulfillment  in  the 
great  world-movements  which  had  passed  into 


BARTON  \V.  JOHNSON 


231 


history.  The  product  of  these  studies  was  tirst 
given  as  a  series  of  lectures,  afterward  publisiied 
in  the  columns  of  "The  Evangelist,"  and  finally 
gathered  together  in  a  volume  entitled  "A 
Vision  of  the  Ages."  Whatever  may  be  thought 
of  some  of  the  conclusions  of  the  author,  it  is 
doubtful  if  any  work  treating  on  this  fruitful 
field  of  investigation  has  ever  presented  sueli  an 
array  of  historical  facts  to  sustain  its  theories, 
or  given  a  more  hopeful  and  comforting  view  of 
the  progress  of  Christian  truth  through  the  ages, 
and  of  its  ultimate  triumph  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth. 

Exacting  as  were  the  duties  of  his  otfice  at  this 
period,  Mr.  Johnson  found  time  to  look  after 
the  local  interests  of  the  churches  struggling  for 
existence  in  a  great  city.  Casting  his  lot  with  a 
handful  of  brethren  known  as  the  West  Side 
Christian  Church,  then  meeting  under  every  dis- 
couragement, he  preached  without  compensa- 
tion and  gave  liberally  of  his  means  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  work,  until  he  witnessed  the  growth 
of  a  flourishing,  self-supporting  church. 

The  growth  of  the  Christian  Church  at  this 
period  was  unprecedented.  A  liberal,  progres- 
sive leadership,  the  organization  of  the  Foreign 
Christian  Missionary  Society,  the  elevation  of 
James  A.  Garfield  to  the  presidency  of  the 
nation,  all  contributed  to  the  rapid  numerical 
increase  of  a  people  who  had  hitherto  urged 


232 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


their  plea  in  comparative  obscurity  and  with 
varying  success.  Feeling  the  need  of  a  sti-ong, 
united  effort  in  permeating  the  rapidly  growing 
church  with  lofty  Christian  ideals,  the  publish- 
ers of  "The  Evangelist"  of  Chicago  and  of 
"The  Christian"  of  St.  Louis,  in  1882,  decided 
to  consolidate  the  interests  of  the  two  houses, 
and  "The  Christian-Evangelist,"  with  B.  W. 
Johnson  and  J.  H.  Garrison  as  its  editors,  was 
the  product,  and  in  this  position  Mr.  Johnson 
continued  until  called  from  his  labors. 

For  this  larger  held  Mr.  Johnson  had  long 
been  in  training.  A  hard  student  from  youth,  he 
brought  to  his  task  a  ripe  scholarship.  Con- 
nected as  he  had  been  with  the  various  public 
interests  of  the  cii'urch,  he  became  a  safe  and 
helpful  counsellor.  Endowed  with  a  capacity 
for  intense  application,  he  was  able  to  accom- 
plish an  amount  of  work  that  was  always  the 
surprise  of  those  who  knew  him.  Wiiether  at 
home  or  abroad,  in  health  or  out  of  health,  no 
week  was  allowed  to  pass  without  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  allotted  amount  of  copy. 

His  editorials  were  replete  with  wisdom,  and 
never  failed  to  instruct,  nor  to  point  the  march- 
ing host  of  God  to  victory.  In  nothing  was  he 
more  fearless  than  in  his  defense  of  the  Word  of 
God  against  all  its  enemies.  He  held  firmly  to 
the  view  that  the  Bible  in  its  entirety  was  the 
Word  of  God,  and  felt  that  God  had  given  him 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


233 


as  a  mission  its  defense  against  the  attacks  of 
higher  ci'iticism  and  so-called  advanced  thought. 
He  had  no  sj-mpath}-  with  the  spirit  of  liberalism 
that  questioned  the  authorship  of  the  Penta- 
teuch or  the  integrity  of  the  prophets.  He  felt 
that  along  this  line  a  great  battle  was  being 
fought  and  that  the  future  triumph  of  Christian- 
ity demanded  that  the  integrity  of  the  Bible  as  a 
whole  should  be  preserved.  As  he  was  com- 
pelled [to  lay  down  his  pen,  his  only  regret  was 
that  he  could  not  have  continued  ten  years  longer 
to  array  his  brethren  in  defense  of  the  Word  of 
God. 

As  he  continued  to  study  and  write,  several  vol- 
umes v,'hich  have  greatly  enriched  our  literature 
grew  up  under  his  pen.  Having  undertaken,  in 
connection  with  his  editoi'ial  labors,  the  prepa- 
ration of  a  lesson  annual  for  teachers  and  ad- 
vanced scholars  in  the  Sunday-school,  he  devoted 
himself  afresh  to  the  study  of  the  Word,  and  in 
addition  to  the  ten  volumes  of  the  Christian  Les- 
son Commentary,  he  prepared  a  commentary  on 
John's  Gospel,  and  the  two  large  volumes  of  the 
People's  New  Testament.  The  latter  was  pre- 
pared with  great  pains  as  an  encouragement  and 
an  aid  to  Bible  study  for  busy  people,  was  re- 
garded by  himself  as  his  best  contribution  to  the 
literature  of  the  brotherhood,  and  remains  a 
monument  of  his  prodigious  industry. 

In  the  midst  of  these  busy  years,  'Slv.  Johnson 


234 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


occasionally  found  opportunity  to  look  about  him. 
He  was  constitutionally  a  traveler.  He  had  the 
traveler's  instinct,  the  traveler's  endurance,  the 
traveler's  enthusiasm.  Outside  of  his  books,  his 
work  and  his  home,  nothing  gave  him  such  in- 
tense enjoyment  as  a  journey  through  regions 
where  nature  was  prodigal  of  her  resources,  or 
where  antiquity  had  buried  her  mysteries.  At 
such  times  his  frail  body  forgot  its  limitations 
and  he  seemed  as  one  possessed  of  the  vigor  and 
enthusiasm  of  youth,  t'atigue  left  him,  and  he 
could  walk  faster,  climb  higher,  endure  more  of 
the  hardshij)s  and  discomforts  of  travel  than 
most  stronger  men.  Had  he  not  been  a  very 
busy  man  he  would  have  traveled  widely,  and 
few  men  would  have  surpassed  him  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  what  he  saw.  As  it  was,  travel  was 
made  his  recreation,  the  only  recreation  he  ever 
knew.  Even  then  he  did  not  cease  to  work,  for 
the  railroad  train,  the  mountain,  the  sea-shore, 
became,  for  a  time,  his  editorial  sanctum,  and  he 
continued  to  write  in  his  accustomed  vein  of 
what  he  heard  and  saw. 

Few  men  possessed  keener  powers  of  observa- 
tion than  he.  He  did  not  merely  look  at  a 
thing— he  looked  through  it.  This  was  true  of 
him  not  only  in  dealing  with  problems  of  relig- 
ious moment,  but  in  his  study  of  men  and  move- 
ments about  him.  If  he  took  up  a  book,  he  mas- 
tered it.  If  he  turned  his  attention  to  a  problem, 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


235 


he  solved  it.  If  he  walked  abroad,  he  became 
what  Emevson  would  call  "a  transparent  eye- 
ball;" seeing  everything,  not  only  that  which  lay 
upon  the  surface,  but  the  underlying  beauty  and 
spiritual  significance.  It  was  this  characteristic 
that  gave  vividness  and  interest  to  his  editorial 
correspondence  when  away  from  home,  whether 
his  journey  took  him  across  continents  or  only  to 
some  obscure  village  with  its  band  of  struggling 
disciples,  that  he  might  lend  a  helping  hand  in 
opening  a  new  church,  or  raising  a  debt,  or  cheer- 
ing the  faint-hearted. 

In  the  summer  of  1889  he  was  able  to  gratify  a 
long-cherished  desire  of  visiting  the  Holy  Land. 
With  chai'acteristic  thoroughness,  before  start- 
ing upon  this  journey,  he  spent  weeks  in  his 
library  in  painstaking  research.  Though  already 
possessed  of  a  wonderful  fund  of  historical  in- 
formation he  now  examined  encyclopedias,  read 
travels,  studied  history,  familiarizing  himself 
with  the  places  he  expected  to  visit  in  his  trav- 
els, refreshing  his  mind  in  old  world  happenings, 
and  jotting  down  in  his  commonplace  book  a 
fund  of  information  that  few  are  able  to  bring 
back  after  months  of  observation  and  study  in 
foreign  lands. 

Thus  equipped,  in  company  with  a  number  of 
friends,  he  sailed  from  New  York,  August  21, 
and  continued  his  journey  from  place  to  place, 
and  land  to  land,  until  he  had  compassed  a  dis- 


236 


MEN  OF  YEvSTERDAV 


tancc  of  more  than  twenty  thousand  miles.  The 
entire  journey  was  enjoyed  with  all  the  relish  of 
youth.  The  more  so,  since  every  place,  though 
strange,  introduced  to  him  scenes  and  incidents 
witli  which  his  studies  had  made  him  familiar. 
It  was  not  merely  a  passage  through  countries 
and  cities  whose  location  he  had  learned  from 
geography,  but  countries  and  cities  which  his 
imagination  peopled  with  heroes  and  martyrs, 
patriots  and  l^enefactors,  who  had  lived  and 
passed  with  their  deeds  into  history.  From 
Luceinc,  Switzerland,  he  writes: 

"Our  march  has  been  a  joy  from  the  time  we 
landed  at  Liverpool.  What  I  have  seen  far  sur- 
passes my  expectation.  The  four  days  in  Paris 
are  indescribable.  The  palace  at  Versailles, 
costing  $200,000,000,  surpasses  in  splendor  any- 
thing I  ever  exi)ected  to  see,  perhaps  anything 
on  earth.  Switzerland  is  a  gem,  and  Lucerne  is 
beautiful." 

Continuing  his  journey,  Florence,  Rome,  Na- 
ples, Athens,  each  furnished  stopping-places 
where  the  soul  of  the  scholar  was  filled  with 
delight.  Ancient  ruins,  galleries  crowded  with 
treasures  of  art,  modern  palaces  and  temples — 
these  were  but  the  background  of  scenes  upon 
which  his  mind  rested.  In  Florence  he  seemed 
to  walk  the  streets  in  company  with  Savonarola 
and  to  hear  once  more  in  St.  Marks  the  thunder 
of  that  voice  which  shook  Italy.    In  Rome,  Vir- 


BARTON  W. JOHNSON 


237 


gil  and  Cicero  and  the  Ci\3Siirs  were  more  real  to 
Iiini  than  Leo  and  Humbert.  In  Athens  the 
echo  of  Paul's  voice  declaring  the  Unknown  God 
on  Mars'  Hill,  seemed  to  linger  among  the  ruins 
that  were  crumbling  about  him.  From  this  in- 
teresting spot  he  writes  in  his  characteristic 
vein : 

"I  climbed  up  to  the  top  of  the  Parthenon 
and  from  its  apex  looked  around  upon  the  pano- 
rama that  opens  to  the  view.  Every  hill,  rivu- 
let, shore  and  ruin  that  we  see  is  famous.  A 
short  distance  west  is  the  rocky  elevation  so 
sacred  in  Christian  story  as  Mars'  Hill,  or  the 
Areopagus,  where  Paul  addressed  the  Athenian 
philosophers  on  the  claims  of  Christ.  Its  sum- 
mit is  forty  or  fifty  feet  above  the  plain,  and  was 
reached  by  a  sei'ies  of  steps,  cut  in  the  rock, 
which  still  remain.  The  amphitheater  where 
Paul's  audience  sat  can  still  be  traced.  A  few 
of  us  had  delightful  worship,  on  Lord's  day,  on 
the  very  spot.  No  monument  stands  here  to 
mark  the  place  where  the  greatest  man  of  his 
age  delivered  his  remarkable  oration;  but  he 
needs  none,  for  Gentile  Christianity  is  his  imper- 
ishable monument.  His  voice  is  silent,  but  ad- 
miring millions  on  every  continent  read  and 
admire  the  wox'ds  that  he  once  spoke  in  the 
midst  of  these  monuments  of  Grecian  great- 
ness." 

The  climax  of  interest  and  enthusiasm  was 


238 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


reached  as  the  traveler  looked  down  from  Oli- 
vet upon  the  City  of  the  Great  King.  To  one 
who  had  lived  in  constant  fellowship  with  the 
Son  of  God  no  scene  could  be  more  enchanting. 
"As  we  stand  in  silence,"  he  writes  of  the  scene 
that  burst  upon  him  from  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
"too  full  for  speech,  and  look  upon  mountains, 
valleys,  homes  and  shrines,  lit  up  by  the  splendor 
of  the  evening  sun,  what  scenes  come  rising  before 
our  memories!  What  wonderful  history  could 
these  silent  mountains  tell  if  God  had  given 
them  tongues!  Here  in  this  narrow  circle  has 
been  wrought  out  the  most  momentous  history 
of  the  race." 

Retracing  his  steps,  he  returned  home,  having 
completed  what  was  tiie  most  memorable  and 
joyous  experience  of  his  life.  Growing  out  of 
this  joui-iiey  was  a  unique  volume  which  shortly 
appeared  from  his  pen,  entitled  "Young  Folks 
in  Bible  Lands."  Representing  himself  the 
youth  that  he  always  felt  himself  to  be  when 
traveling,  and  his  companions  as  boys,  he  has 
managed,  through  dialogue  and  description,  to  so 
interweave  experience  and  history  as  to  present 
an  interesting  and  instructive  book  for  young 
readers. 

r.    HOME  Ayi)  IlKAVKN. 

The  few  remaining  years  which  B.  W.  Johnson 
was  permitted  to  enjoy  among  us  were  quietly 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


239 


spent  at  his  post  of  duty,  and  though  unevent- 
ful, they  were,  nevertheless,  years  of  intense 
mental  activity,  when  the  fires  of  his  inner 
nature  burned  with  unwonted  glow. 

It  uiight  have  been  said  of  him,  as  it  was  said 
of  Doctor  Lyman  Beecher:  "Had  he  husbanded 
his  energies  and  turned  them  in  a  single  chan- 
nel, the  mental  fire  might  have  burned  steadily 
on  till  long  after  three  score  and  ten.  But  this 
was  an  impossibility.  Circumstances  and  his 
own  constitutional  temperament  united  to  spur 
him  on,  and  for  more  than  twenty  of  his  best 
years  he  worked  under  a  high  pressure,  to  use 
his  favorite  expression,  to  the  ne  plt(s,  that  is, 
to  the  ultitnate  limit  of  physical  and  moral 
endurance." 

Mr.  Johnson  did  not  know  how  to  rest.  In 
only  one  way  did  he  yield  to  the  cry  of  his  over- 
taxed strength,  that  was  in  changing  the  scene  of 
his  labors,  without  remitting  in  the  least  the 
number  or  measure  of  the  tasks  he  had  assigned 
himself.  Feeling  the  need  of  refreshing  country 
air,  he  was  induced  in  1887  to  abandon  the  city 
for  a  time,  and  took  up  his  residence  in  De  Soto, 
Iowa,  where  he  had  endeared  himself  to  the  peo- 
ple in  a  former  pastorate,  and  where  he  was 
held  in  great  admiration  and  revered  as  a  father. 
These  may  be  counted  among  the  happiest  years 
of  his  experience.  Here  he  Avrote  with  almost 
ceaseless  energy,  and  here  he  preached  with  great 


240 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


acceptance.  Here  he  refreshed  his  mind  by 
companionship  with  the  volumes  that  filled  his 
library,  and  his  body  by  exercise  in  his  garden, 
or  by  social  intercourse  with  farmers  and  neigh- 
bors with  whom  he  lived  on  terms  of  intimacy. 
He  loved  the  country.  He  loved  the  simple 
manners  of  country  life,  in  which  his  early  years 
were  spent.  He  was  a  child  of  nature,  and 
would  gladly  have  spent  his  remaining  days 
where  the  fragrance  of  field  and  the  song  of 
bird  could  be  enjoyed,  but  the  inexorable  de- 
mands of  business  again  called  him  to  the  city 
and  to  an  untimely  close  of  his  useful  life. 

It  was  during  these  quiet,  busy  days  that  the 
strongest  and  most  beautiful  traits  of  his  char- 
acter were  to  be  observed.  To  know  him  at  his 
best,  one  must  know  him  at  the  fireside,  sur- 
rounded by  family  and  a  few  friends.  Others 
might  admire  him  for  his  wisdom  and  scholar- 
ship, but  only  those  who  entered  into  this  inner 
circle  of  his  acquaintanceship  could  ever  fully 
ixndei'stand  him.  Here  there  was  a  freedom  and 
a  cordiality  in  his  manner  seldom  manifest  in  the 
presence  of  strangers.  The  glow  of  his  own  tire- 
side  seemed  to  melt  down  that  element  of 
reserve  which  was  always  more  or  less  manifest 
in  his  association  with  the  world  outside.  Here 
one  caught  glimpses  of  the  depth  and  beauty  of 
his  conceptions,  which  his  pen  failed  to  trans- 
cribe and  his  voice  was  unable  to  utter  in  public 


BARTON  W.  JOHXSOX 


241 


address.  His  couversations  were  replete  with 
wisdom,  and  an  evening  in  his  companionship 
would  give  one  a  better  conception  of  the  histor- 
ical bearing  of  a  subject  than  could  be  gained 
from  a  week's  reading. 

In  the  home  he  was  loyal  to  every  demand 
made  upon  him.  He  lived  in  the  bosom  of  his 
family,  and  was  never  so  happy  as  when  wife 
and  children  were  about  him.  As  a  father,  he 
was  strongly  attached  to  his  children.  His  ideas 
of  paternal  authority  may  have  been  a  little 
more  strict  than  those  of  most  fathers,  but  it 
was  always  exercised  with  a  kindness  and  pru- 
dence and  wisdom  that  won  their  admiration  and 
affection,  and  made  it  their  chief  delight  to  do 
what  pleased  him.  Even  after  they  were  grown 
and  had  gone  to  homes  of  their  own,  they  never 
ceased  to  be  his  little  girls,  always  receiving  and 
heeding  his  counsel. 

His  devotion  and  loyalty  as  a  husband  were 
always  beautiful.  Few  men,  of  lives  so  busy  and 
labors  so  ardent,  have  shared  so  largely  in  the 
companionship  of  wife.  He  always  wanted  her 
near  him.  When  duty  took  him  away  he  was 
always  restless  to  return.  He  took  her  into  his 
counsels.  No  decision  was  ever  made  without 
first  submitting  the  matter  to  her  for  considera- 
tion, and  no  step  was  ever  taken  without  her 
approval.    By  this  course  he  was  saved  many  a 

hastv.  ill-considered  decision,  and  much  that,  in 
'  16 


242 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


a  nature  like  his,  would  otherwise  have  been  a 
source  of  incouvenieiice  and  mortification  to 
him,  was  repressed. 

His  study  was  in  a  large  sense  the  center  of 
his  life,  but  it  was  never  his  castle.  Here, 
through  many  years,  had  grown  up  a  large,  well- 
selected  library,  which  was  largely  a  reflection  of 
his  intellectual  tastes.  As  was  to  be  expected, 
history  predominated.  A  few  well-selected  poets 
filled  a  niclie,  tliough  he  was  never  devoted  to 
the  nuise.  For  fiction  he  had  little  time,  and,  if 
feeling  the  need  of  mental  recreation,  usually 
road  over  and  over  his  few  favorites.  "Pick- 
wick Papers"  was  with  him  an  annual,  and  was 
read  each  time  with  increasing  delight.  In  the- 
ology his  library  was  always  supplied  with  the 
latest.  Advanced  thought  and  coaservatism, 
higher  critic  and  traditionalist,  found  places  side 
by  side  on  his  lil)rary  shelves. 

Thus  surrounded,  his  time  was  largely  spent 
with  his  books;  but  he  never  sought  their  com- 
panionship with  barred  doors.  He  could  always 
be  approached  by  his  family  or  a  friend,  and 
never  became  so  absorbed  in  study  but  that  he 
was  able  to  pause  for  a  moment's  conversation, 
or  give  some  needed  counsel.  Indeed,  he  was 
never  so  happy  at  his  work  as  when  his  wife  was 
quietly  seated  in  his  library  near  him.  Often 
when  she  was  engaged  in  her  household  duties, 
he  would  go  in  quest  of  her,  and  insist  on  her 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


243 


bringing  her  work  into  the  study  by  his  side,  say- 
ing he  could  work  better  if  she  were  near.  And 
when  his  task  was  done  it  was  always  submitted 
to  her  before  it  was  given  to  the  public.  If  it 
was  an  article  for  the  paper,  he  would  read  it 
aloud  to  her.  If  a  sermon  for  the  pulpit,  he 
would  preach  it  before  her  with  all  the  fervor 
and  elaborateness  with  which  it  was  afterward 
delivered  before  the  congregation. 

Though  a  man  of  letters  and  an  acknowledged 
leader  of  religious  thought  among  the  Disciples, 
he  shrank  from  literary  or  ecclesiastical  titles, 
and  refused  to  accept  or  wear  them  when  con- 
ferred upon  him.  To  him  it  was  enough  that  he 
was  a  servant  of  Christ,  and  in  this  service  it 
was  his  unfailing  ambition  to  please  his  Master, 
satisfied  if  in  the  end  he  should  hear  words  of 
approval  spoken  by  Divine  lips. 

We  have  traced  the  career  of  Barton  W.  John- 
son almost  to  its  close.  But  one  scene  remains. 
That  is  the  conflict  that  ended  in  final  victory. 
Across  his  pathway  for  a  time  was  cast  a  shadow; 
but  it  was  soon  dispelled,  and  the  sun  burst  with 
undying  splendor  upon  the  brow  of  another  of 
God's  servants. 

In  the  autumn  of  1893,  the  already  frail  body 
was  again  prostrated  by  disease.  Rallying  from 
the  first  severe  attack,  Mr.  Johnson  once  more 
sought  health  in  the  sunny  climate  of  Florida, 


244 


MEN  OF  YEvSTERDAY 


where  a  few  years  Ix'fore  lie  had  been  enabled  to 
recuperate  his  exhausted  energies.  Ilis  life-lon<? 
friend  and  co-laborer,  Francis  M.  Call,  accom- 
panied him,  relieving  him  from  all  the  cares  and 
details  of  tlie  journe}",  and  loving  hands  minis- 
tered to  him  from  day  to  day.  Here  he  made  a 
brave  fight  for  life.  He  felt  that  his  work  for 
the  Master  was  not  done.  He  saw  about  him 
foes  of  righteousness  which  he  longed  yet  to  at- 
tack with  his  faithful  pen.  For  a  time,  as  week 
after  week  he  felt  his  strength  declining,  his  soul 
was  enveloped  in  gloom.  Sunny  skies  and  spark- 
ling seas  and  fragrant  groves  lost  their  charm. 
The  old  home  feeling  grew  stronger,  and  he 
pined  for  his  own  fireside.  Here,  once  again 
surrounded  by  family  and  friends,  his  faith  grew 
stronger  and  hope  brighter;  and  as  he  caught 
glimpses  of  the  far-away  shore,  he  spoke  to  those 
who  gathered  around  his  bedside  of  the  holy 
ambition  that  had  burned  within  his  soul,  of  his 
desire  to  have  continued  ten  years  longer  on 
earth  in  the  service  of  the  cause  he  loved,  but  of 
his  resignation  to  the  Father's  will.  "I  have 
tried,"  said  he,  as  the  pen  fell  for  the  last  time 
from  his  grasp,  "I  have  tried  to  be  a  faithful 
worker." 

At  last  the  end  came.  In  the  early  morning 
hours  of  May  24,  1894,  as  if  there  had  already 
burst  upon  his  soul  the  morning  sun  of  eternity, 
he  said,  "Reduce  the  light,"  and  then  fell  asleep. 


BARTON  W.  JOHNSON 


245 


These  were  his  hist  words.  The  morning  light 
had  broken,  such  a  morning  as  can  only  fall  to 
the  lot  of  earth's  redeemed  children,  as  they  bid 
farewell  to  its  sorrows.  "What  must  have  been 
the  vision  of  that  closing  hour!  While  his  hand 
was  yet  strong  he  had  painted  this  picture  of 
heaven,  which  embodied  his  conception  of  the 
fut^ire  life: 

"No  place  can  lie  heaven  to  any  being  ivho  does 
not  faJ>e  Jieaven  to  it  in  liis  i^oul.  Heaven  is  a 
state  as  well  as  a  place.  No  mau  can  be  happy 
unless  he  has  the  elements  of  happiness  within. 
Some  carry  hell  with  them  wherever  they  go. 
Heaven  was  a  hell  to  Milton's  Satan;  heaven 
would  be  hell  to  the  sinner  steeped  in  sin,  hating 
God  and  righteousness.  In  order  to  have  an 
eternal  heaven,  we  nmst  have  the  love  of  heaven, 
of  God  and  heavenly  things,  planted  in  our  souls 
while  below. 

"In  the  second  place,  we  gain  some  idea  of 
the  bliss  of  heaven  l)y  the  eternal  absence  of 
the  things  that  distress  us  here.  These  frail 
bodies  of  ours  are  often  bundles  of  pain  so 
severe  that  we  sigh  for  release.  There  arc 
those  who  are  upon  the  rack  day  and  night,  and 
life  is  a  long-drawn  agony.  How  sweet  the 
thought  to  these  tired  and  weary  ones,  to  all 
whose  bodies  are  aching,  whether  it  be  from  the 
burdens  of  toil  or  disease,  to  think  of  a  home 
near  at  hand,  where  there  is  no  pain  any  more, 


246 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


where  crying  and  tears  arc  unheard  and  unseen 
for  ever!  These  aching  bodies  of  flesli  and 
blood  and  nerve  shall  be  exchanged  for  spiritual, 
incorruptible,  undying  bodies,  which  will  never 
get  out  of  repair,  and  hence  will  never  suffer 
pain.  And  this  fact  also  excludes  another  of 
the  dark  shadows  which  cloud  our  earthly  life. 
With  such  bodies  there  will  be  no  death  in  the 
eternal  home,  no  funerals,  no  broken  circles,  no 
bereaved  hearts,  no  mourners,  none  of  that  great 
sorrow  that  cometh  sooner  or  later  into  every 
earthly  household,  and  the  dread  of  whose  com- 
ing always  casts  a  gloom. 

"Then  again,  the  curse  of  this  present  world 
is  sin.  Sin  unsheathes  the  sword,  devasta.tcs  a 
country  with  war,  burns  cities,  turns  brutal  sol- 
diery upon  wives  and  daughters,  opens  the 
saloon,  the  gand)ling  den,  and  the  brothel,  beg- 
gars millions  of  our  race,  poisons  with  slander, 
cheats,  robs,  murders,  and  indeed  perpetuates 
ever}'  wrong  that  tills  this  world  with  wretciied- 
ness.  Wl:o  hath  not  felt  its  bitter  sting!  Who 
hath  not  known  the  sorrow  of  unmerited  wrong! 
"Who  hath  not  traced  his  greatest  misery  to  the 
presence  of  sin  in  this  world!  In  view  of  this 
sad  experience  of  our  race  there  is  no  statement 
concerning  the  heavenly  city  which  contains 
sweeter  comfort  than  the  assurance  that  'there 
shall  no  sin  enter  there.'  'There  shall  in  no 
wise  enter  into  it  anything  that  detileth,  neither 


BARTON  \V.  JOHN.SOX 


247 


wolketh  aboininutiou  ov  iiiaketli  a  lie,  but  they 
which  are  written  in  tlie  Lamb's  book  of  life.' 
Not  in  the  holy  city,  but  'without,  arc  dogs,  aiul 
sorcerers,  and  whoremongers,  and  murderers 
and  idolaters,  and  whosoever  loveth  and  nuiketh 
a  lie.'  Never  in  that  blessed  abode  shall  the 
righteous  soul  be  grieved  by  the  sight  of  impurity 
or  wrong;  never  shall  the  saint  endure  the  sting 
of  an  angry,  s[)iteful  or  slanderous  tongue. 
There  shall  no  shadow  fall  upon  tlie  spirit,  no 
penalty  for  broken  law,  nor  shall  there  'he  any 
more  curse,'  because  the  defiling  touch  of  sin 
shall  never  stain  that  pure  and  holy  home  of  the 
redeemed.  There  will  be  no  discord  in  heaven, 
but  union  and  peace  foreverniore. 

"I  shall  not  draw  upon  my  imagination  for  the 
employments  of  the  happy  dwellers.  They  will 
not  be  idle,  nor  will  their  employments  be  use- 
less. They  have  on  earth  worked  the  work  of 
God,  and  they  will  work  it  still;  their  earthly 
life  has  been  a  continual  growth  in  Divine  knowl- 
edge, and  heaven  will  not  bring  tliat  growth  to 
its  end.  If  there  be  work  forever  for  the  angels, 
surely  there  will  be  work  for  God's  redeemed 
children.  But  one  of  the  most  delightful  pros- 
pects of  heaven  is  the  blessed  company  that 
shall  gather  in  the  holy,  happy  land.  Socrates 
in  the  Phaedo  is  made  to  speak  of  the  worthies 
beyond,  whom  he  expects  to  see  when  he  passes 
through  the  gates  of  which  the  hendock  was  to 


248  MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 

be  the  key.  And  what  :i  holy  and  hiippy  reun- 
ion be  ours  on  the  ceU'l)i-:ited  shore!  Not 
only  oiir  own  sainted  dead,  the  h)ved  ones  whom 
regretful  memory  still  keeps  near  us,  but  the 
grand  heroes  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy, 
or  who  have  laid  themselves  upon  the  altar  of 
humanity.  In  that  heavenly  society  we  ahall 
meet  Judson,  and  Luther,  and  Savonarola,  and 
the  mighty  hosts  of  sufferers,  male  and  female, 
who  loved  not  their  own  lives;  the  ever-glorious 
Paul,  and  the  other  ineml)ers  of  that  immortal 
band  of  apostles,  evangelists  and  martyrs  who 
put  in  motion  the  new  forces  that  changed  the 
world :  the  sweet  and  blessed  women  who  told 
the  first  news  of  the  risen  Lord;  and  there,  too, 
will  'gather  many  from  the  east  and  the  west 
■who  will  sit  down  in  the  kingdom  with  Abraham, 
and  Isaac,  and  Jacol),'  and  tlic  rest  of  the  men 
of  God  of  the  infant  world. 

'There  tin-  saints  of  all  aiivs  in  lianiioiiy  meet, 
Tlu'ir  Savior  ami  l.ivlliivn  t  ra  a>-i  h  .I't .  I  t,,  -reel; 
While  the  autlieiiis  ..f  rapture  iinreasiiiul y  roll, 
And  the  smile  of  the  Lord  is  the  feast  of  tlie  soul.'  " 

Beautiful  and  impressive  as  this  picture  is  to 
us,  how  colorless  it  must  now  apjjear  to  him  be- 
fore whose  vision  have  unfolded  the  glorious 
realities  of  the  heavenly  abiding-place! 


(>,  A.  miRGESs. 


VI. 

OTIS  A.  BURGESS. 


If  nnytliiiiEr  is  fnlsc,  absolutely  false,  it  does  not  take  a 
man  very  loiii^-  to  find  it  out.  especially  if  that  falseliood  elial- 
leni;-(>s  all  men  everywhere  in  the  open  lia-ht  of  day.  Christ's 
system  has  done  that  very  thing.  It  has  not  remained  in  a 
e(u-ner;  it  has  m)t  sought  the  cover  of  darkness;  it  lias  not 
made  its  ai)peal  merely  to  the  unlearned  and  su|icrsiitiniis. 
But  stepping  boldly  into  open  day,  it  lias  ehallenL^rd  the  at- 
tention of  mankind,  and  ccnirtcd  the  severest  tests  to  which 
advanced  learning  and  wisdom  have  been  able  to  subject  it. 
It  has  stood  tlie  tests  and  proved  its  divine  character  thereby. 
— O.  A.  Burucss. 
250 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS. 


I.    YOUTH  AND  EARLY  LABORS. 

'iiis   century  of   achievement  has  produced 


nothing  so  great  as  the  men  and  women 
who  have  directed  its  energies.  Its  inventions, 
discoveries  and  reforms,  must  ever  give  place  to 
its  inventors,  discoverers  and  reformers.  It  has 
been  pre-eminentl}'  a  centur}'  of  splendid  man- 
hood and  womanhood.  We  pause  in  admiration 
of  its  great  characters,  and  to  know  them  is  to 
be  irresistibly  drawn  by  them  to  a  higher  and 
holier  purpose. 

In  the  midst  of  these  splendid  examples  in  the 
realm  of  religion,  philanthropy,  literature,  art, 
commerce  and  iiulustry,  I  have  contined  my 
attention  in  this  series  of  sketches  to  those 
whose  lives  and  iniluence  were  emplo3-ed  in  tlie 
establishment  and  defense  of  ii  simple,  apostolic 
Christianity.  Among  these,  O.  A.  Burgess  may 
well  take  rank  as  a  leader.  "While  he  occupied 
a  place  somewhat  different  from  others  whose 
achievements  I  have  considered,  in  his  own 
chosen  sphere  of  labor  he  has  rendered  invalu- 
able service,  and  towers  like  a  giant  among  the 
defenders  of  the  Christian  faith. 


(251) 


252 


MEN  OF  YEvSTERDAY 


To  know  him  was  to  feel  the  impress  of  a 
strong  personality,  to  tind  one's  self  stretching 
to  reach  a  loftier  ideal,  or  aspiring  to  render 
worthier  service.  It  was  iny  privilege  to  know 
him  at  that  inipressi()nal)le  age  wlien  great  men 
make  their  deepest  and  most  lasting  impress; 
and  I  liere  chcerfullj'  record  m\'  debt  to  him  as  a 
teaeher  and  a  friend.  He  was  one  of  the  few 
men  who  have  personally  helped  me  to  see 
further  and  deeper  into  the  mysteries  of  this 
surrounding  world,  and  whose  life  and  memory 
have  l)een  a  continual  inspiration.  Asa  friend 
his  sympathies  were  unbounded;  as  a  teacher  of 
youth  he  was  a  whole  college  in  himself;  as  a 
friend  and  teacher  in  one,  he  possessed  rare 
power  as  a  character-builder. 

Mr.  Burgess  was  fortunate  in  his  parentage. 
He  was  a  member  of  a  house  whose  corner- 
stone was  Plymouth  Rock.  His  ancestors,  both 
paternal  and  maternal,  weie  meml)ers  of  the  Pil- 
grim Colony  of  1637.  They  were  of  the  stern 
Puritan  type,  rather  too  stern,  perhaps,  for  the 
highest  spiritual  development;  but  they  were 
successful  in  imparting  to  their  descendants  a 
strength  and  decision  of  character,  of  which  O. 
A.  Burgess  had  his  full  share.  They  were  en- 
dowed with  the  energy  and  independence  which 
their  untamed  surroundings  demanded,  and 
when  their  liberties  and  privileges  were  endan- 
gered, they  were  said,  on  the  morning  of  the 


OTIS  A.  BURGEESS 


253 


Revolutionary  ()utl)ieak.  "to  have  been  up 
before  the  sun." 

In  a  Puritan  home  in  Thompson,  Connecticut, 
Otis  Asa  Burgess  was  l)orn  August  26,  1829. 
That  his  own  childhood  partook  largely  of  his 
New  England  surroundings,  and  that  from  the 
same  source  he  came  into  possession  of  a  "large 
vital  force,  and  affectionate  and  respectful 
obedience,  and  an  early  life  of  tasks  and  indus- 
try," is  evident  as  we  study  the  character  and 
temper  of  the  man.  The  home  was  one  of  re- 
ligious influence,  but  of  a  rigid  type  of  i-eligion 
that,  in  a  boy  of  his  independence  of  spirit,  in 
time,  came  near  making  permanent  shipwreck  of 
his  faith.  A  pious,  devoted  mother,  whose 
beautiful  character  and  gentle  ways  were  always 
among  his  tenderost  memories,  sought  to  bring 
him  up  in  the  stern  elements  of  her  unsympa- 
thetic creed.  But  religion  was  so  dismal  a 
matter  in  those  days,  and  the  occasion  of  so 
many  discomforts  and  hardships,  repulsive  to 
youthful  spirits,  that  it  was  quite  difficult  for  an 
inquisitive  child  to  reconcile  it  with  his  simple 
ideas  of  Divine  goodness.  Indeed,  comfort  in 
worship  was  regarded  as  almost  iri'everent. 
Even  in  the  rigid  winters  of  a  New  England  cli- 
mate, meeting-houses  were  unheated,  and  I  have 
heard  him  tell  how  he  would  sit  shivering  by  his 
mother,  half-frozen,  through  the  long,  dry  ser- 
vice, wondering  at  the  inconsistency  of  a  God 


254 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


who  allowed  people  to  build  fires  in  their  homes, 
but  for])id  it  in  the  ehurche.s.  Those  trying 
winter  si  i  \  iees  and  the  rigid  home  discipline,  for 
his  father  was  of  that  stern  type,  almost  tyi'an- 
nical,  made  the  religion  of  his  childhood  any- 
thing but  a  pleasant  memory;  and  almost  before 
he  had  learned  the  meaning  of  it  all,  he  had 
begun  to  doubt. 

When  he  was  still  a  small  boy,  the  family  for- 
tunes led  to  their  I'emoval  to  Norwich,  New 
York.  This  was  in  1837,  and  the  next  ten  years 
were  spent,  as  best  his  surroundings  would  afford, 
in  fitting  himself  for  a  place.  This  was  no  easy 
task.  It  was  a  period  of  privation.  Opportun- 
ities were  rare,  and  the  privileges  of  a  boy  few. 
Most  of  this  period  he  went  to  "that  school  of 
discipline  from  which  so  many  great  men  have 
graduated — a  farmer  boy's  life.''  With  an  occa- 
sional term  in  the  district  school,  and  plenty  of 
opportunity  amcnig  "the  rocks  and  stumps"  for 
physical  exercise,  he  rapidly  grew  to  manhood, 
strong,  resolute  and  fearless. 

While  still  taught  in  the  doctrines  of  strictest 
Calvinism,  he  passed  through  experiences  before 
he  had  reached  his  fifteenth  year  that  sent  him, 
for  a  time,  to  the  ranks  of  infidelity.  His  moth- 
er's death,  which  occurred  about  this  time,  left 
a  deep  impression  upon  his  mind.  The  rebellion 
which  had  sprung  up  in  his  youthful  heart 
seemed  to  give  way  at  the  touch  of  atfliction. 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS 


255 


The  meraoiy  of  her  faithful  teaching,  and  the 
keen  sense  of  his  loss  at  her  death,  seemed  about 
to  accomplish  her  prajer  for  the  salvation  of 
her  hoy.  He  resolved,  if  possible,  to  share 
her  faith,  and  began  to  seek  earnestly  after  God. 
He  resorted  to  the  accustomed  means  of  grace. 
It  was  an  occasion  of  revival  in  the  commu- 
nity. The  mourners'  bench  was  pointed  out  as 
the  pathway  to  religious  joy,  and  thither  he  went 
for  peace.  With  prayer  and  tears  he  sought  the 
assurance  of  pardon.  But  all  his  efforts  seemed 
unavailing,  and  he  finally  turned  his  back,  not 
only  upon  his  early  religious  training,  but  on 
religion  itself,  concluding  that  either  he  was 
"predestined  to  be  lost,  and  was  given  over  to 
hardness  of  heart,"  or  that  Christianity  itself 
was  a  baseless  superstition.  It  was  a  critical 
moment,  and  the  wonder  is,  not  that  his  heart 
rebelled,  but  that  he  was  ultimately  snatched 
from  the  ruin  of  infidelity  to  become  one  of  the 
mightiest  champions  of  the  Christian  faith,  and 
the  most  fearless  antagonist  of  modern  skep- 
ticism. 

Whether  at  this  time  he  had  formed  any  defin- 
ite plan  of  life-work,  can  not  be  stated.  If  so, 
his  plans  were  shattered,  as  later  he  bowed  at 
the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  pledged  himself  to  his 
service.  He,  at  least,  very  early  cherished  an 
ambition  to  deserve  the  respect  of  his  fellow- 
men  and  win  for  himself  a  place  of  influence  in 


256 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


the  world,  and  he  now  felt  that  the  only  hope  of 
its  realization  was  to  s(  t  about  the  task  of  get- 
ting the  best  education  his  circumstances  would 
allow.  He  had  reached  his  seventeenth  year, 
and  while  left  upon  his  own  resources,  he  deter- 
mined to  commence  a  course  of  study.  For 
this  purpose  he  entered  Norwich  Academy,  a 
flourishing  institution  in  the  neighborhood. 
Such  was  his  ability,  industry  and  progress,  that 
within  a  few  weeks  he  was  able  to  teach  success- 
fully in  the  common  schools.  Carefully  hus-- 
banding  his  small  earnings,  after  a  time  he 
accumulated  sufficient  funds  to  enable  him  to 
re-enter  the  academy,  where  he  pursued  his 
studies  for  a  term  of  fourteen  weeks,  and  fin- 
ished the  entire  course,  except  the  classics. 

The  young  man  now  began  to  look  about  him 
for  a  place.  His  surroundings  offered  him  little 
encouragement.  The  newly  settled  West,  then 
as  since,  was  a  land  of  promise  for  ambitious 
young  men.  Half  a  century  ago  it  presented  a 
field  of  unbounded  resources  and  opportunities 
to  intelligence  and  enterprise.  If  a  man  turned 
his  attention  to  agriculture,  vast  unoccupied  ter- 
ritoiy  stretched  out  before  him.  If  he  deter- 
mined upon  a  professional  career,  there  was 
plenty  of  elbow  room  anywhere.  If  he  did  not 
rise,  it  was  largely  his  own  fault.  No  matter 
how  poor  in  purse,  socially  he  found  himself  in 
the  best  society  if  he  possessed  any  element  of 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS 


257 


worth.  Cordial  friendship)  uiul  warm  sympathy 
welcomed  every  iiew-comur  who  was  in  any  sense 
worthy  of  respect. 

Thither  young  Burgess  resolved  to  go.  Gath- 
ering together  his  small  possessions,  in  the  fall 
of  1847,  he  started  westward,  like  Abraham, 
hardly  knowing  whither  he  went,  until  the  in- 
viting prairies  of  Illinois  caused  him  to  halt. 
The  country,  then  new,  seemed  to  present  an 
ideal  field  in  which  to  make  a  start  in  life,  and 
stopping  at  Metamora,  he  began  at  once  looking 
about  him  for  something  to  do.  It  was  a  fortu- 
nate circumstance  that  brought  him  among  the 
thrifty  people  of  this  little  western  village,  and 
marks  a  turning  point  in  his  career. 

The  school-room  again  offered  him  a  place  of 
anchorage,  and  he  soon  made  himself  a  reputa- 
tion as  an  instructor  and  disciplinarian  as  the 
master  of  a  district  school.  He  fully  identified 
himself  with  the  new  life  around  him,  and  was 
recognized  as  a  leader  both  in  the  sports  and  the 
intellectual  life  of  the  community  that  enjoyed 
his  services.  But  as  yet  the  bitterness  of  his 
unbelief  left  its  blight  upon  his  nature.  He 
had  turned  from  the  Calvinism  of  his  childhood, 
the  only  phase  of  Christianity  of  which  he  knew 
anything.  He  had  never  heard  of  anything  to 
take  its  place,  and  was  consequently  satisfied 
Avith  his  agnosticism.    But  he  had  not  been  long 

in  his  new  field  of  labor  until  he  heard  of  a  pccu- 
17 


258 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


liar  people,  calling  themselves  Disciples  of 
Christ,  but  whom  society  disrespectfull}' named 
"Campbellites."  It  needed  little  to  induce  him 
to  join  in  the  general  ridicule  of  this  new  relig- 
ious order,  of  whom  he  heard  only  misrepresent- 
ation and  censure.  That  he  ever  overcame  his 
prejudices  sufficiently  to  give  respectful  consid- 
eration to  the  truth  as  taught  by  this  people,  and 
to  become  a  submissive  disciple  of  Christ,  is  an 
amazing  achievement  of  grace. 

II.    NEW  LIFE  AND  LABORS. 

It  was  some  time  after  his  removal  to  the  px'ai- 
ries  of  Illinois  that  he  had  the  privilege  of 
attending  a  meeting  conducted  by  a  people  he 
had  come  to  hold  in  light  esteem,  and  of  listen- 
ing to  their  doctrine.  It  was  more  through  curi- 
osity than  anything  else  that  he  finally  attended 
a  service  held  in  the  neighborhood.  It  was  his 
good  fortune,  upon  this  occasion,  to  hear  Henry 
Palmer,  one  of  the  most  worthy  preachers  of 
pioneer  fame  in  Illinois.  Instead  of  confusing 
dogmas,  that  had  caused  him  to  stumble  and 
turn  his  back  upon  Christ  and  the  church,  he 
heard  from  this  faithful  preacher  a  simple  plan 
of  redemption  unfolded,  of  which  Christ  was  the 
center,  and  which  appealed  alike  to  his  reason 
and  to  his  heart.  The  message  came  to  Mr. 
Burgess  like  a  new  revelation.  He  had,  like 
Timothy^  been  trained  in  the  Scriptures  from 


OTIvS  A.  BURGESS 


259 


youth,  but  it  was  a  new  Bible  Father  Pahiier 
put  iuto  his  hands  after  that  first  discourse.  He 
went  home  determined  to  ascertain  for  him- 
self the  truth  of  the  doctrine  that  had  been  pre- 
sented. Taking  up  his  neglected  Bible,  he  w^as 
surprised  to  find  that  it  really  contained  the  mes- 
sage that  had  been  presented,  and  that  it  was 
not  the  invention  of  the  preacher.  After  that  it 
required  only  a  short  period  to  convince  him  of 
the  error  and  folly  of  unbelief,  and  then  his 
heart  bowed  submissively  l)efore  the  simple  truth 
of  the  Gospel,  and  on  July  21,  1850,  he  was 
immersed  upon  a  profession  of  his  faith. 

This  conquest  of  the  Gospel  gave  to  the  world 
a  devoted  and  able  minister  of  the  Word,  a 
worker  of  recognized  ability  in  the  cause  of 
Christian  education,  and  an  influential  member 
of  society. 

Upon  his  acceptance  of  Christ,  Mr.  Bui-gess 
began  at  once  to  recast  all  his  plans.  He  had 
enlisted  for  service,  and  was  ready  to  devote  his 
life  to  his  new  Master  in  whatever  sphere  he 
could  make  himself  most  useful.  He  had  now 
reached  his  twenty-first  year.  Thrown  early 
upon  his  own  resources,  he  was  self-reliant  and 
fearless.  He  had  thus  far  toiled  up  hill  all  the 
way,  and  now  that  the  fountain  of  his  religious 
feeling  was  touched,  he  felt  himself  equi[)ped 
with  new  power  for  a  continued  struggle. 

Undaunted  by  the  limitations  which  early  jjov- 


260 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


erty  had  thrown  about  him,  and  with  heart  aglow 
with  the  zeal  of  his  new  faith,  he  determined  to 
fit  himself  for  the  ministry  of  the  Word.  With 
this  new  purpose  of  a  consecrated  life,  he  deter- 
mined to  tliorougiily  equip  himself  for  his  chosen 
work.  Bethany  College,  presided  over  by  Alex- 
ander Campbell,  then  in  the  full  glory  of  his 
grand  career,  was  at  that  time  the  educational 
center  of  the  Christian  Church.  From  its  hails 
were  being  sent  forth  an  army  of  educated 
young  men  who  were  to  be  the  moulders  of 
our  religious  histoi-y  for  a  generation.  Mr.  Bur- 
gess decided  to  go  to  Bethany.  But  in  taking  an 
inventory  of  his  resources,  he  found  that  after 
paying  his  fare  to  this  seat  of  learning  he  would 
have  just  four  dollars  and  a  half  and  a  carpen- 
ter's hand-saw  remaining.  It  was  a  daring  tiling 
to  attempt,  but  in  his  very  make-up  he  possessed 
the  element  that  was  willing  to  take  large  risks 
when  the  issue  depended  upon  sacrifices,  labor 
and  faith  in  Christ.  So  he  started.  He  found 
it  a  struggle  to  maintain  himself  in  college,  but 
having  put  his  hand  to  the  plow,  he  would  not 
turn  back.  He  had  already  counted  the  cost, 
and  resolved  to  shrink  fi'om  no  hardships.  He 
knew  how  to  work  with  his  hands  as  well  as 
brain.  All  his  resources  were  now  drawn  upon 
to  secure  the  prize  of  an  education.  He  did  odd 
jobs  as  a  carpenter  on  Saturdays  and  holidays. 
The  vacations  he  spent  in  teaching.    As  he  be- 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS 


26i 


gan  to  exercise  his  gifts  as  a  preacher,  he  was 
soon  able  to  add  to  his  slender  resources  by 
preaching  for  some  of  the  surrounding  churches, 
though  it  must  be  confessed  that  from  tiiis 
source  his  gains  were  hirgel}-  in  experience,  rather 
than  in  dolhirs  and  cents.  Yet  in  after  years  his 
heart  always  went  out  in  gratitude  to  the  breth- 
ren who  took  hold  of  him,  and  held  him  firmly 
by  the  hand,  when  it  was  doubtful  whether  the 
scale  would  turn  for  or  against  him  in  his  desire 
and  effort  to  become  a  preacher. 

With  a  splendid  physique,  a  richly  endowed 
mind,  and  his  great  will-]iower,  he  was  able  to 
endure  and  accomplish  more  than  most  young 
men;  and  while  working  his  way  through  college 
he  kept  up  with  his  class,  receiving  from  the 
hands  of  Alexander  Campbell,  in  1854,  the 
diploma  of  graduation. 

The  next  step  for  the  young  preacher  was  to 
secure  a  field  where  he  could  contribute  to  the 
advancement  of  the  cause  of  Christ.  This  was 
not  so  easy  as  it  would  now  appear.  Churches 
were  then  looking  for  old  preachers  of  rich  ex- 
perience and  profound  Biblical  knowledge,  and 
young  preachers,  like  young  lawyers  and  young 
doctors,  had  to  begin  at  the  bottom.  Returning 
to  Illinois,  Mr.  Burgess  first  found  employment 
in  connection  with  Walnut  Grove  Academy  as 
its  financial  agent,  and  helped  to  secure  the 
charter  for  its  conversion  into  Eureka  College. 


262 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


He  then  and  ever  afterward  felt  that  the  future 
of  the  Disciples  of  Christ  depended  upon  the 
successful  establishment  of  institutions  where 
Christian  education  could  be  given,  and  threw 
his  great  energy  into  this  cause  as  did  few  other 
men. 

Soon  after  his  return  from  Bethany,  Mr.  Bur- 
gess formed  an  alliance  which  proved  every  way 
helpful  to  him  throughout  his  busy  life, — that 
was  his  union  in  marriage  with  Miss  Nannie 
Ledgervvood,  who  as  Mrs.  O.  A.  Burgess,  still 
survives  him  to  carry  on  the  Master's  work 
which  he,  in  the  strength  of  his  prime,  was  com- 
pelled to  lay  down.  Those  who  know  of  Mrs. 
Burgess'  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  and 
of  her  consecrated  service  in  leading  the  sister- 
hood of  the  Disciples  in  their  world-wide  minis- 
try, need  not  be  told  that  one  of  the  contributing 
elements  to  the  success  of  the  young  preacher 
and  educator,  was  the  co-operation  of  his  de- 
voted Christian  wife. 

While  it  had  been  the  purpose  of  Mr.  Bur- 
gess, from  the  moment  of  his  conversion,  to 
become  the  messenger  of  the  religion  he  once 
had  ridiculed  and  rejected,  the  way  had  not  yet 
opened  for  him  to  devote  his  whole  energy  to 
the  ministry  of  the  Word.  In  the  meantime  he 
gave  his  attention  to  the  work  of  securing  for 
the  growing  West  better  educational  advantages. 

Having  succeeded,  as  financial  agent,  in  put- 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS 


263 


ting  Eureka  College  on  a  better  financial  basis, 
he  was  given  a  place  on  its  Faculty,  in  the  fall  of 
1855,  as  "Professor  of  Natural  Sciences,  Mental 
and  Moral  Philosophy,  and  Lecturer  on  Sacred 
Literature,"  a  range  of  instruction  rather  broad 
and  diverse  for  a  young  man  but  recently  out  of 
college  himself.  But  the  specialist  had  not  yet 
made  his  appearance,  and  the  public  was  not  so 
exacting  as  now;  and  Mr.  Burgess  found  him- 
self fairly  equipped  to  instruct  the  young  men 
from  the  country  who  filled  his  class-room.  He 
was  no  novice  in  the  field  of  education,  since  he 
had  had  considerable  experience  as  a  public 
school  teacher,  and  if  his  scholarship  was  yet 
limited,  he  possessed  the  inspirational  faculty  of 
breatliing  life  into  abstruse  college  studies,  and 
exciting  among  his  students  a  passion  for  knowl- 
edge and  unbounded  admiration  for  the  gifted 
teacher. 

But  he  had  set  out  to  follow  his  Master  in  a 
different  field,  and  though  his  life  was  destined 
to  be  spent  largely  in  the  training  of  young  men 
and  women,  he  now  had  other  plans.  His  in- 
tense religious  zeal  would  not  be  contented 
within  the  limits  of  the  class-room.  He  believed 
so  firmly  in  the  plea  for  the  restoration  of  Primi- 
tive Christianity  that  he  longed  to  be  out  in  the 
field  as  its  aggressive  champion.  He  belonged 
to  the  church  militant  in  the  most  literal  sense 
of  the  term.    Without  vanity  or  egotism,  he  felt 


264 


MEX  OF  YESTERDAY 


himself  possessed  of  talent  which  could  be  made 
to  serve  the  cause  he  had  espoused,  in  a  larger 
field.  His  brethren  shared  in  this  conviction, 
and,  at  the  close  of  the  first  year  in  Eureka  Col- 
lege, he  was  called  to  minister  to  the  churches  of 
Washington  and  Metamora,  Illinois.  Here  for  a 
period  of  five  years  he  carried  on  a  vigorous 
campaign  against  the  enemies  of  Christ,  winning 
converts,  strengthening  the  churches,  and  mak- 
ing for  hitnself  a  reputation  throughout  the 
brotherhood  as  a  preacher  of  extraordinary- 
power. 

Once  during  this  period  of  his  service  his 
courage  failed,  and,  with  a  fainting  spirit,  he 
decided  to  abandon  the  ministry.  It  had  been  a 
hard  struggle  to  secure  support  from  the  weak 
churches  for  which  he  labored.  To  sustain  the 
work  and  keep  himself  from  debt,  and  hunger 
from  his  door,  he  turned  his  attention  to  farm- 
ing as  well  as  preaching.  At  last  "he  decided  to 
quit  and  go  farther  West.  He  had  a  pair  of 
horses  to  sell,  and  hearing  of  a  man  about 
twenty  miles  away  who  wanted  to  buy  a  pair,  he 
started  out  to  see  him.  On  his  way  he  stopped 
at  a  small  town  where  a  meeting  at  the  time  was 
going  on.  He  preached  at  night,  and  the  next 
day  started  on  to  complete  his  journey.  The 
man  did  not  buy  his  horses,  and  on  his  way  home 
lie  again  preached  and  continued  the  meeting 


OTIS  A.  BURGEESS 


265 


with  a  large  number  of  additions.  Tliis  was  the 
establishment  of  him  in  his  life  work." 

It  may  be  well  to  pause  here  and  study  the 
man  as  he  stood  before  his  fellows  in  the  early 
years  of  his  ministry. 

Nature  had  fashioned  him  for  a  leader,  a  man 
of  mark  among  men.  He  had  an  air  of  manly 
independence  which  manifested  itself  in  his 
look,  his  word,  his  action.  There  was  a  fear- 
lessness in  his  manner  and  method  of  presenting 
the  truth  that  at  once  won  the  respect  and  con- 
fidence of  his  hearers,  and  contributed  to  the 
success  of  his  ministry. 

In  stature  he  was  tall,  slightly  stooped,  save 
when  he  drew  himself  up  to  hurl  some  shaft  of 
truth  against  the  defenses  of  his  antagonists. 
His  eye  was  black  and  piercing,  and  blazed  with 
the  fire  of  his  inner  nature  when  aroused, 
twinkled  with  merriment  when  engaged  in 
friendly  intercourse,  and  then  reposed  into 
almost  melancholy  when  pondering  upon  the 
graver  problems  that  occupied  his  mind.  His 
long,  flowing  beard,  black  as  night,  prominent 
nose  and  expansive  brow,  combined  to  form  a 
figure  and  features  that  were  sure  to  impress  a 
waiting  audience  with  expectations  that  wei'e 
seldom  disappointed.  In  keeping  with  his 
physical  and  intellectual  characteristics  was  a 
splendid,  deep,  rich  voice,  that  contributed  to 


266 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


the  feeling  of  niassiveness  when  he  spoke.  His 
conceptions  of  things,  too,  were  as  large  as  his 
personal  bearing,  and  one  never  listened  to  him 
without  the  consciousness  of  an  enlarged  hori- 
zon, feeling  himself  the  part  of  a  greater  world, 
the  possessor  of  undreamed  of  blessings,  the 
recipient  of  unbounded  grace,  the  servant  of  an 
infinite  Master,  the  heir  of  inconceivable  riches. 

The  following  picture  from  the  pen  of  a  life- 
long friend  will  be  recognized  by  those  who 
knew  him : 

"No  one  felt  the  dignity  and  glory  of  his 
calling  more  than  he.  The  august,  representa- 
tive character  of  his  office  was  never  lost  sight 
of  by  him.  He  always  had  upon  his  heart  a 
message,  and  this  he  uttered  with  all  the 
thougiit,  fervor  and  pathos  of  his  strong  nature. 
He  had  an  inexpressible  contempt  for  pulpit 
platitudes,  or  pulpit  sensationalism.  He  always 
dealt  with  weighty  matters,  and  his  sermons 
were  grave,  strong,  manly  sermons,  often  con- 
taining passages  of  unpremeditated  beauty  and 
noble  eloquence,  that  moved  mind  and  heart  to 
clearer  thought  and  better  conduct.  In  manner 
this  message  was  sometimes  with  the  impetuos- 
ity and  terrible  energy  of  Elijah,  and  then 
again  with  the  love  and  tenderness  of  John.  In 
the  heat  of  spiritual  conflict  he  was  a  'son  of 
thunder;'    in  the  communion  f)f  saints  he  had 


OTIS  A.  J5URGESS 


267 


much  of  the  simplicity  and  child-like  love  that 
the  Apostle  John  had  for  the  Master." 

Such  was  the  man  who  stood  forth  young, 
strong  and  resolute  as  the  champion  of  Chris- 
tianity against  unbelief,  and  of  a  ratioiiul.  script- 
ural Christianity  against  that  founded  upon 
human  creed  and  tradition.  During  these  early 
labors  Mr.  Burgess  endeared  himself  to  a  large 
circle  of  friends.  Beyond  the  borders  of  his 
charge  he  frequently  went  to  carry  on  a  cam- 
paign against  sin,  or  to  help  some  struggling  pas- 
tor, or  to  establish  anew  the  claims  of  Christ 
where  infidelity  had  obtained  a  foothold.  In 
these  labors  he  was  instrumental  in  winning 
many  to  Christ,  and  materially  strengthening  the 
cause  of  truth  in  the  great  Prairie  State. 

The  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  in  1861,  with 
its  call  to  arms,  broke  into  every  peaceful  enter- 
prise, even  that  of  the  ministry.  The  patriotic 
instincts  of  Mr.  Burgess  pushed  him  to  the  front 
among  the  first,  and,  as  a  captain  of  volunteers, 
he  experienced  all  the  dangers  and  hardships  of 
array  life,  often  on  "the  perilous  edge  of  battle," 
and  in  "the  imminent,  deadly  breach." 

In  this  capacity  he  served  his  country  until 
after  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing,  in  ^yhich 
he  took  part.  Soon  after  his  health  entirely 
broke  down,  and  he  was  compelled  to  return  to 
moi-e  peaceful  pursuits. 

In  the  fall  of  1862,  Mr.  Burgess  resumed  his 


268 


aiEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


inini>ten;il  labors,  accc[)tiiig  a  call  to  the  Centi-ai 
Christian  Church  of  Indianapolis,  then  the  fore- 
most church  of  the  Disciples  in  the  West.  He 
was  now  in  the  strength  of  his  early  prime, 
keenly  alive  to  every  interest  of  humanity,  and 
a  recognized  leader  in  every  movement  that 
would  contribute  to  human  progress.  It  was  a 
peculiarly  trying  period.  The  excitement  at- 
tending the  equipment  of  armies  and  the  news 
of  battles,  engrossed  the  public  attention.  But 
such  was  the  strength  and  genius  of  Mr.  Bur- 
gess' pulpit  efforts  that  he  was  able  to  call  back 
men's  minds  to  the  great  central  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  enlist  them  first  in  the  service  of 
Christ,  as  an  essential  step  in  their  preparation 
for  patriotic  service.  As  a  preacher  he  gave 
forth  no  uncertain  sound.  Having  planted  his 
feet  upon  the  testimonies  of  the  Gospel,  his 
whole  energy  was  enlisted  in  its  proclamation 
and  defense.  He  literally  hid  behind  the  Cross 
of  Christ.  His  sermons  of  this  period  arc 
strong  in  their  jiresentation  of  the  claims  of  the 
Bible  and  the  evidences  of  revealed  religion. 
Having  in  his  early  experiences  lingered  for  a 
time  in  Doubting  Castle,  he  knew  how,  as  few 
have  been  able  to  do,  to  describe  its  gloom  and 
to  point  the  way  out.  As  the  recognized  cham- 
pion of  the  Bible  he  was  now  often  called  upon 
to  defend  it  against  the  attacks  of  skepticism  in 
many  places;  the  foreshadowings  of  his  splendid 


OTIS  A.  BURGEKSS 


269 


service  in  later  years  as  the  defender  of  the 
faith. 

During  the  busy  years  of  Mr.  Burgess'  pastor- 
ate in  Indianapolis,  his  growing  reputation 
brought  him  into  touch  with  the  various  inter- 
ests of  the  community  and  the  church.  He  was 
never  a  man  of  one  idea,  and  no  single  enter- 
prise was  ever  able  to  entirely  consume  his 
enei'gy.  He  was  a  many-sided  man,  and  nothing 
of  human  interest  was  foreign  to  him.  It  thus 
happened  that  while  his  labors  as  pastor  were 
earnest  and  productive  of  large  results,  he  found 
time  and  inclination  to  go  out  into  many  lines  of 
service,  that  extended  his  fame  and  endeared 
him  to  thousands. 

His  ability  as  a  public  speaker  made  large 
draft  upon  his  time.  Anniversaries,  dedications, 
occasions  of  moment,  political  and  religious, 
brought  him  often  upon  the  platform  beyond  the 
confines  of  his  parish,  and  called  from  him  his 
ablest  efforts.  In  times  of  public  exultation 
over  victory,  or  public  sorrow  in  calamity,  he 
was  again  and  again  chosen  to  give  ex[)ression  to 
the  feelings  of  his  townsmen,  and  the  power 
with  which  he.  rose  to  great  occasions  never 
failed  to  justify  his  choice.  I  venture  to  quote 
the  following  from  an  address  before  the  citizens 
of  Indianapolis  shortly  after  the  a-sassination  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  not  only  because  it  illustrates 
the  line  eloquence  of  the  speaker,  but  also  be- 


270 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


cause  of  its  portrayal  of  the  ideal  statesman 
and  ruler: 

"I  must  think  that  the  magnitude  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's work  has  never  been  equaled  in  the  his- 
tory of  nations.  With  a  l)ankrupt  treasury; 
with  stolon  mints;  with  surrendered  forts;  with 
empty  arsenals;  with  treachery  at  home  and 
enmity  abroad;  with  the  startling  revelation 
almost  every  day  that  a  high  and  trusted  ofBcial 
had  turned  a  traitor;  forsaken  by  those  he 
deenu'd  friends ;  abused,  denounced  and  aban- 
doned !)y  even  more  in  number  in  the  North 
than  in  the  South — he  took  the  helm  amidst  the 
wildest  waves  on  wliicli  shi[)  of  State  ever  rode, 
and,  calm  as  the  bosom  of  a  placid  lake,  he 
stood  unmoved,  beating  back  the  surging  billows 
of  scorn  and  hatred  and  treason,  as  the  rock 
beats  back  the  tem))est-lashed  sea.  Amidst  all 
this  storm  of  wrath  and  sea  of  treason,  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  has  never  uttered  a  hast}'  expres- 
sion or  made  an  angry  speech.  Neither  the 
chagrin  of  disappointed  office-seekers,  nor  the 
haste  of  over-zealous  friends,  nor  the  deep 
malignity  of  his  most  implacaljle  enemies,  has 
l)etrayed  him  into  a  single  pul)li(5  utterance  over 
which  his  warmest  friends  may  blush.  ...  A 
statesman  without  intrigue,  a  patriot  without 
stain,  a  more  than  monarch  without  ambition, — 
his  tirst,  his  last,  his  only  thought  the  union  of 
country  and  freedom  for  the  [)eo2)lc." 


OTIS  A.  BURGESvS 


271 


III.    THE  FEARLESS  DEFEyDEU  OF  THE  FAITH. 

As  the  storm  of  civil  war  cleared  away,  Mr. 
Burgess  felt  the  throb  of  a  new  era,  and  with  it 
the  feeling  of  new  responsibility.  He  foresaw 
dangers  as  well  as  opportunities;  and  believing 
that  Christianity,  and  that  the  purest  type 
of  Christianity,  presented  the  only  safeguard 
against  future  calamity,  he  called  upon  his 
brethren  for  new  deeds  of  devotion  in  extending 
the  influence  of  the  Reformation.  So  intense 
was  his  feeling  of  the  greatness  of  the  hour  that 
he  for  a  time  abandoned  his  pulpit,  to  go  out  in 
the  interests  of  the  American  Christi;in  Mission- 
ary Society.  Tn  the  summer  of  1865,  ho  traversed 
a  wide  section  of  ihe  country  in  a  campaign  of 
missionary  education  among  the  churches,  and 
gave  his  energies  to  raising  funds  for  the  more 
complete  evangelization  of  America. 

After  a  short  period  of  service  in  the  interest 
of  home  missions,  he  returned  to  the  care  of 
his  charge  in  Indianapolis,  and  continued  in  its 
uninterrupted  service  until  the  summer  of  1868, 
when  a  call  came  to  him  to  the  Presidency  of 
Northwestern  Christian  University,  now  Butler 
College.  It  was  with  no  intention  of  abandon- 
ing the  ministry  that  he  accepted  the  position 
offered  him.  Indeed,  he  never  ceased  to  be  a 
preacher,  and  during  the  greater  part  of  his  career 
as  an  educator,  upon  which  he  now  entered,  he 
continued  to  minister  to  the  church  which  had 


272 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


become  strongly  attached  to  him.  His  energies 
from  this  time  on  were  largely  consumed  in  the 
interests  of  Christian  education,  and  most  of  us 
who  knew  him  in  that  period,  think  of  him  in 
the  class-room  as  a  teacher,  rather  than  in  the 
pulpit  as  preacher. 

Few  men  were  better  fitted  for  such  a  position 
than  he.  His  early  experience  as  district  school- 
master, his  former  service  in  the  college  class- 
room, his  wide  experience  among  men,  his  rich 
acquisitions  of  knowledge,  all  contributed  to  his 
endowment  for  the  work  he  now  had  in  hand. 
There  was  an  originality  and  daring  in  his 
method  of  investigation  that  presented  a  pecu- 
liar charm  to  tlu^  minds  of  young  men.  There 
was  a  ruggedness  and  positiveness  in  his  manner 
of  thought  and  styU^  of  expression  that  inspired 
confidence.  There  was  a  warmth  aiid  genialitj' 
in  his  intercourse  with  students  that  won,  not 
only  their  admiration,  but  their  friendship. 

Here,  for  more  than  a  decade,  with  a  brief 
interval  spent  in  Chicago,^  Mr.  Burgess  devoted 
himself  to  the  work  of  quickening  and  directing 
young  men  and  women  in  their  intellectual  pui'- 
suits,  and  in  their  moral  and  religious  develop- 
ment. In  this  capacity  he  might  be  called  an 
educational  reformer.  He  was  among  the  first 
to  advocate  and  try  the  experiment  of  the  co- 

1  From  ISrO  to  1873,  Mr.  Burgess  served  as  pastor  of  the 
ludiaua  Avenue  Christian  Church  of  Chicago. 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS 


273 


education  of  the  sexes  upon  a  single  standard  of 
study  and  excellence.  The  attempts  at  co-edu- 
cation, so  far  as  tried  in  a  few  other  Western 
colleges,  had  hitherto  prepared  a  double  course 
of  stud}',  a  less  thorough  and  difficult  one  for 
feminine  minds.  Of  course,  he  had  to  endure 
his  share  of  ridicule.  It  was  claimed  that  young 
men  and  women,  if  brought  together  in  the 
class-room,  would  fall  in  love  with  each  other, 
and  that  the  standard  of  education  would  have 
to  be  lowered  to  meet  the  mental  capacity  of  the 
weaker  sex. 

In  defense  of  the  ground  he  had  taken,  Mr. 
Burgess  urged  that  the  co-educatiou  of  the  sexes 
had  a  refining  and  restraining  infiuence  on  both; 
that  it  establishes  a  social  life  in  college  which 
is  as  necessary  to  proper  and  comprehensive 
education  as  a  knowledge  of  books,  of  literature, 
or  science;  and  that  an  education  together,  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  each  other,  and  a  pro- 
found and  sincere  respect  for  each  other,  will  be 
far  more  likely  to  promote  their  future  happi- 
ness than  ignorance  and  false  notions. 

A  few  years  justified  the  wisdom  of  'Sir.  Bur- 
gess' course.  It  has  led  to  the  opening  of  nearly 
every  institution  in  the  land  to  young  ladies 
upon  the  same  terms  as  to  young  men,  and  has 
resulted  in  the  honors  being  cari  ied  off  repeat- 
edly by  them  in  competition  with  the  brightest 

college  men. 
18 


274 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


Witli  Alexander  Campbell,  he  believed  that 
every  educational  s.ysteni  was  faulty  which  did 
not  seek  the  syni metrical  development  of  man's 
entire  being,  body  as  well  as  mind,  and  spirit  as 
well  as  body.  So  the  Bible  was  made  one  of  the 
corner-stones  of  instruction,  and  it  was,  perhaps, 
nerer  made  more  attractive  than  as  studied  in 
Mr.  Burgess'  class-room.  His  ideals  of  educa- 
tion, kept  constantly  before  the  young  men  and 
women,  find  expression  in  his  Inaugural  Address 
as  President  of  the  University,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing gives  the  key-note: 

"I  trust  you  will  give  yourselves,  with  what- 
ever energy  and  ability  you  possess,  that  with  so 
much  gained  here,  you  may  be  able,  with  God 
in  your  hearts  and  nature  before  your  eyes,  to 
continue  a  course  of  study  that  will  lead  you  to 
the  higher  realization  of  the  truly  and  thorough- 
ly educated,  stopping  not,  nor  being  satisfied, 
until  the  life  that  now  is  shall  find  its  comple- 
ment in  the  life  which  is  to  come." 

How  anxiously,  I  might  almost  say  agoniz- 
ingly, he  looked  after  the  moral  development  of 
his  students  as  they  passed  through  the  tempta- 
tions peculiar  to  college  life,  we  may  gather 
from  his  own  words: 

"When  I  see  a  young  man  just  ready  to  enter 
upon  the  rugged  duties  of  life,  turning  aside 
from  the  path  of  virtue  and  truth,  preferring 
the  nightly  theater  to  the  sacred  home-circle, 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS 


275 


absorbed  hy  the  gidd}'  whirl  of  the  dance,  en- 
ticed by  the  promised  gain  of  the  card-table, 
poisoned  by  the  venom  of  the  wine-cup;  and 
when  at  length  I  see  him  preferring  the  house  of 
revelry  and  shame  to  the  house  of  worship  and 
praise,  I  bow  my  head  and  weep,  while  in  try 
heart  I  feel  that  he  is  walking  in  the  footprints 
of  the  devil. 

"When  I  see  a  young  lady  filled  with  the 
haughty  spirit  of  pride,  impatient  of  parental 
restraints,  watching  with  feverish  anxiety  the 
rose  that  blooms  but  for  an  hour,  forgetting  the 
amaranthine  flower  that  blooms  forever,  and 
always  adorning  the  body,  but  never  the  soul, 
my  soul  sickens  within  me  as  I  exclaim,  Alas  I 
that  woman — beautiful,  fragile,  lovely,  noble 
woman — should  also  tread  in  the  footprints  of 
the  devil." 

Youth — promising,  ambitious,  enticed  youth — 
always  found  in  him  a  true  friend  and  helper, 
and  the  impress  of  his  lofty  ideals  was  carried 
out  into  the  world  by  thousands  who  came  under 
his  influence. 

In  pursuing  the  career  of  Mr.  Burgess  through 
the  various  lines  of  service  which  he  rendered 
Christianity,  I  have  purposely  omitted  mention 
of  his  repeated  conflicts  with  the  enemies  of  the 
faith.  From  the  day  when  he  left  the  ranks  of 
doubt  to  become  a  follower  of  the  Son  of  God, 
until  the  day  when  he  laid  down  the  burden  of 


276 


MEN  OF  YKSTERDAY 


earthly  toil,  revealed  truth  had  no  holder  or 
more  invincible  champion  than  he. 

It  has  somehow  fallen  to  the  representatives 
of  the  Christian  Church  in  our  century  to  meet 
the  enemies  of  the  Bible;  and  it  has  been  their 
honor  to  meet  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  utterly 
put  them  to  flight.  Having  no  creed  to  defend 
but  that  contained  in  the  Scriptures,  no  theolog- 
ical system  to  bolster  up,  no  apology  to  make 
for  denominational  errors,  they  have  occupied 
ground  more  easily  defcnsil)k'  than  that  of  other 
representatives  of  the  Christian  faith.  In- 
trenched behind  the  Man  of  Galilee  and  his 
Gf)spel,  they  have  never  failed  to  sustain  the 
claims  of  the  New  Testament  Church  against 
those  whose  stock  in  trade  was  the  imperfections 
of  modern  religious  society.  Alexander  Camp- 
bell in  his  time  did  valiant  service  in  meeting 
and  vanquishing  the  foremost  champions  of  un- 
belief. Mr.  Burgess  rendered  scarcely  less  val- 
uable service  to  a  more  recent  generation  in  his 
fearless  conflict  with  all  opposers  of  Christian- 
ity who  could  be  drawn  into  debate,  and  in  his 
courageous  exposure  of  those  who  could  not. 

From  almost  the  beginning  of  his  public  min- 
istry Mr.  Burgess  was  called  upon  to  give  ex- 
pression to  the  ground  of  Christian  faith  and 
hope,  and  he  was  perhaps  more  widely  known  as 
a  defender  of  the  Christian  religion  against  the 
attacks  of  skepticism  than  in  any  other  capacity. 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS 


277 


It  was  in  this  field  of  religious  service  that  he 
appeared  at  his  best.  He  was  constitutionally  a 
debater.  His  keen  logic,  ready  wit,  fair  schol- 
ai'ship,  close  reasoning,  vital  magnetism  and  rare 
gifts  of  oratory,  left  him  with  few  superiors  in 
the  field  of  polemics.  As  a  preacher,  while 
always  instructive,  he  was  sometimes  disappoint- 
ing. But  the  presence  of  an  antagonist  fired  his 
mind,  and  in  the  excitement  of  debate  he  rose  to 
unwonted  heights  of  eloquence,  and  never  failed 
to  more  than  satisfy  the  expectations  of  his 
friends. 

In  discussing  the  claims  of  Christianity  Mr. 
Burgess  felt  confident  of  his  ground.  With  an 
aching  heart  he  had  onco  canvassed  the  whole 
field  in  his  search  for  God  and  peace,  and  at  last 
found  all  that  he  sought  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross 
of  Christ.  With  such  an  experience  behind  him, 
he  ever  more  made  himself  secure  by  anchoring 
his  faith  to  the  rock-truths  of  revealed  religion. 

Skeptic,  spiritualist,  free-thinker,  representa- 
tives of  every  form  of  unbelief  that  rejected  the 
claims  of  his  Master,  encountered  in  him  a  fear- 
less antagonist.  But  his  most  noted  encounters 
were  with  Mr.  B.  F.  Underwood,  the  a[)ostle  of 
free-thought  and  infidelity.  In  an  attitude  of 
defiance  the  latter  went  about  the  country,  re- 
peating his  tirade  against  Christianity,  and  call- 
ing upon  its  representatives  to  meet  him  in  its 
defense  or  acknowledge  their  ground  untena))le. 


278 


MEN  OF  YE.STERDAY 


The  friends  of  truth  soon  discovered  in  Mr. 
Burgess  one  whom  they  could  intrust  with  its 
defense,  and  from  that  time  until  Mr,  Under- 
wood finally  retired  from  the  field  he  was  called 
upon  again  and  again  to  meet  him  in  public  de- 
bate. The  success  of  Mr,  Burgess'  defense  was 
usually  attested  by  a  revival  of  religion  in  the 
community  where  the  debate  was  held,  he  him- 
self often  remaining  to  gather  in  the  fruitage. 

One  sentence,  rescued  from  this  series  of  con- 
flicts with  Mr.  Underwood,  uttered  in  defense  of 
the  doctrine  of  immortality,  shows  the  keenness 
of  Mr.  Burgess'  argument: 

"Can  it  be,"  said  he,  "that  the  lifeless  clay  of 
my  body  shall  return  into  the  parent  dust,  and 
that  miserable  clod  live  forever,  while  that  which 
controls  and  regulates  this  body — the  active,  liv- 
ing, thinking,  intelligent  principle  within  me — 
shall  only  cease  to  be?" 

But  he  was  not  always  successful  in  bringing 
the  enemies  of  truth  to  an  encounter.  They 
came  in  time  to  fear  him  and  evade  him.  In  the 
summer  of  1872,  a  Mr.  Denton  delivered  a  series 
of  so-called  scientific  lectures  in  AVorcester, 
Mass,  Throughout  his  effort  was  to  throw  ridi- 
cule on  the  Bible.  At  the  close  of  the  series  he 
challenged  the  city  to  gainsay  his  statements. 
The  challenge  was  taken  up  by  the  friends  of 
truth.  Mr.  Burgess  was  selected  as  the  most 
able  and  suitable  man  to  defend  the  cause  of 


OTI.S  A.  nURGESvS 


279 


Christianity,  and  he  at  once  accepted  the  respon- 
sibility. But,  arriving  on  the  ground,  he  found 
it  impossible  to  arrange  terms  with  his  opponent, 
so  nothing  remained  for  him  but  to  deliver  a 
series  of  lectures  in  defense  of  the  claims  of  the 
Bible.  An  eye-witness  has  left  us  this  picture  of 
Mr.  Burgess  as  he  appeared  before  the  citizens 
of  Worcester: 

"I  had  seen  and  heard  many  preachers  before, 
but  remember  nothing  to  equal  this  occasion. 
As  he  took  his  place  on  the  stand,  every  move- 
ment indicated  that  he  was  more  than  an  ordi- 
nary person.  And  when  the  full,  deep,  rich 
tones  of  his  voice  rang  out,  and  that  eye — 
sharper  than  an  eagle's  and  piercing  as  the  Word 
he  was  about  to  defend — flashed  over  the  assem- 
bled audience,  there  came  an  almost  breathless 
stillness,  which  was  unbroken  for  nearly  two 
hours.  His  arguments  were  clear,  pointed,  and 
driven  home  with,  as  it  were,  the  blows  of  a 
mighty  sledge-hammer.  He  appeai'ed  a  tower  of 
strength,  mentally  and  physically.  He  was  thor- 
oughly at  ease  in  mind  as  to  the  truths  of  the 
Bible.  His  expression  was  free,  often  soaring 
into  the  sublime.  In  fact,  everything  he  said  or 
did  was  pregnant  with  meaning,  and  the  very 
ideal  of  eloquence." 

Another  defamer  of  Christianity  whom  he 
longed  for  an  opportunity  to  meet  in  public  de- 
bate was  Mr.  Ingersoll.    But  the  wily  skeptic 


280 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


always  succeeded  in  evading  him,  feeling  much 
safer,  in  his  tirade  against  the  Christian  faith, 
upon  a  platform  where  the  ghost  of  an  antagon- 
ist would  not  haunt  him.  While  Mr.  Burgess 
was  never  able  to  bring  the  silver-tongued  blas- 
phemer to  a  face-to-face  encounter,  he  was  not 
of  the  temper  to  allow  his  bold  sophisms  to  pass 
unchallenged,  or  the  communities  in  which  they 
were  uttered  to  accept  them  as  unquestioned 
statements  of  truth.  So  ably  and  logically  and 
effectively  did  he  meet  every  point  urged  against 
the  Christian  Scriptures  that  he  was  kept  busy 
following  in  the  track  of  the  infidel  lecturer,  set- 
ting coniniunities,  in  widely  separated  parts  of 
the  country,  right  upon  these  matters. 

In  1879  he  received  the  following  invitation 
from  Washington,  D.  C,  signed  by  many  repre- 
sentative men  of  both  houses  of  Congress: 

"The  undersigned  are  desirous  that  a  reply  be 
made  to  the  lecture  of  Col.  Robert  G.  IngersoU 
on  'Some  Mistakes  of  Moses,'  immediately  after 
its  delivery.  As  you  have  replied  to  it  elsewhere, 
we  are  well  aware  of  your  ability  to  address 
yourself  to  the  subject,  and  we  are  interested 
that  it  be  done  in  tlie  service  of  pure  religion,  at 
the  City  of  Washington." 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  addresses  of  Mr. 
Burgess  on  this  and  other  occasions  "in  the  serv- 
ice of  pure  I'eligion,"  have  not  been  preserved. 
Aside  from  a  few  imperfect  newspaper  I'eports, 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS 


281 


and  the  recollectioa  of  those  who  heard  this 
grand  man  in  the  defense  of  their  faith,  nothing 
remains  of  all  that  array  of  testimony  by  which 
he  put  to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens. 

To  the  very  end  he  counted  it  his  chiefest  joy 
to  lead  his  fellowmen  out  into  the  clearer  light 
of  truth  respecting  the  authority  of  the  Bible, 
the  divinity  of  Jesus,  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
etc.  "I  wish  it  distinctly  understood,"  he  said, 
"that  neither  my  brethren  nor  the  cause  I  repre- 
sent shall  ever  be  driven  to  the  wall  by  infidelity, 
if  what  little  ability  I  possess  can  at  any  time 
contribute  to  the  defense  and  maintenance  of 
the  truth." 

He  feared  Grod,  and  because  of  his  reverence 
"for  the  Father's  authority  his  most  vigorous 
intellectual  efforts  were  made  when  his  moral 
indignation  was  stirred  by  men  who  challenged 
the  existence  of  God,  the  truths  of  revealed 
religion  or  the  claims  of  virtuous  living.  With 
clearness  of  reasoning,  with  effectiveness  of  re- 
sources and  in  the  manliness  of  free  debate,  he 
was  a  champion  of  truth  and  righteousness." 

TV.    THt:  CLOSIXG  YEARS  OF  A  BUSY  LIFE. 

In  connection  with  his  professional  duties  Mr. 
Burgess  was  always  faithful  to  his  obligations  as 
citizen  of  a  great  Republic.  From  the  day  when 
he  joined  the  ranks  of  his  country's  defenders  on 
lh(;  battlefield,  to  the  close  of  his  eventful  career. 


282 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


he  shrank  from  no  service  which  the  responsibil- 
ities of  citizenship  imposed.  He  manifested  an 
active  interest  in  great  political  movements.  His 
public  addresses  were  all  patriotic  in  tone.  This 
was  especially  true  of  those  addressed  to  the 
young  men  and  women  in  colleges.  His  ambi- 
tion as  an  educator  was  to  make  good  citizens; 
and  on  occasions  when  important  political  inter- 
ests were  involved,  he  would  teach  the  boys  prac- 
tical politics  by  leading  them  into  the  caucus,  and 
arraying  them  on  the  side  of  righteousness. 

His  ))atriotism  was  a  recognized  factor  in  the 
State  where  most  of  his  busy  years  were  spent. 
In  recognition  of  his  loyalty  and  ability,  he  was 
prominently  mentioned  as  a  candidate  for  the 
Governorship  of   Indiana  in  the  campaign  of 

1880.  While  his  friends  failed  to  secure  for  him 
the  nomination,  he  entered  the  political  arena 
that  year  as  the  champion  of  James  A.  Garfield, 
and  was,  without  doubt,  one  of  the  important 
factors  in  turning  the  tide  in  the  State  of  Indi- 
ana in  his  favor  and  securing  his  election  to  the 
Presidency  of  the  United  States. 

Complications  which  grew  out  of  Mr.  Burgess' 
active  participation  in  politics  led  him,  early  in 

1881,  to  sever  his  connection  with  Butler  Uni- 
versity and  return  to  his  former  pulpit  in  the 
city  of  Chicago.  He  was  now  at  what  seemed 
the  very  zenith  of  his  career.  He  had  just  en- 
tered upon  that  age  which  gave  him  wisdom  and 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS 


283 


influence.  His  energy,  faith  and  ability  had 
secured  him  a  position  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
advocates  of  primitive  Christianity.  The  work 
upon  which  he  now  entered  promised  a  field 
commensurate  with  his  ability.  Our  forces  were 
yet  weak  in  the  cities.  But  it  was  felt  that  the 
time  for  planting  the  reformation  in  these 
strongholds  had  come,  and  none  were  better 
qualified  to  win  recognition  in  a  great  center  of 
population  than  he.  An  orator  of  recognized 
power,  a  man  of  profound  conviction  and  posi- 
tive faith,  a  tireless  and  enthusiastic  worker,  he 
combined  the  elements  which,  under  favorable 
circumstances,  would  have  won  large  results  in 
any  city.  But  the  situation  that  confronted  him 
was  one  of  extraordinary  difficulties.  A  check- 
ered history  of  a  quarter  of  a  century,  with 
heterogeneous  elements  in  the  pews  and  councils 
of  the  church,  combined  to  make  a  condition 
that  refused  to  yield  to  the  sledge-hammer  blows 
of  this  "son  of  thunder." 

While  heroically  wrestling  with  these  adverse 
conditions,  Mr.  Burgess  continued  to  serve  his 
brethren  in  a  wider  capacity.  Almost  constant 
demand  was  made  upon  him  in  the  lecture-held 
in  defense  of  the  Christian  faith  against  the  at- 
tacks of  infidelity.  In  the  councils  of  his  breth- 
ren. State  and  national,  his  voice  was  always 
heard  as  one  of  the  strongest  champions  of  world- 
wide missions.    He  was  among  the  first  to  rccog- 


284 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


nizt'  and  urge  the  claim.s  of  a  di.stinctively  heathen 
mission,  to  which  his  l)rethren  had  liitherto  !>eeii 
oblivious.  Every  movement  that  would  in  any 
way  contribute  to  the  progress  of  truth  found  in 
him  a  friend.  But  now  a  blow  came  from  an- 
other quarter  that  well-nigh  broke  his  heart,  and 
without  doubt  hastened  his  untimely  death. 

The  friendship  of  Mr.  Burgess  for  Garfield 
had  become  a  passion.  He  had  put  his  life  into 
the  campaign  that  in  1880  had  secured  his  elec- 
tion to  the  Presidency.  In  this  service  he  had 
not  1)een  actuated  l)y  selfish  or  political  motives. 
Garfield  was  his  brother  in  Christ.  Together 
they  had  labored  for  the  same  great  cause, — the 
rot  oration  of  Primitive  Christianity.  Mr.  Bur- 
gess now  saw  in  the  elevation  of  his  friend  an 
opportunity  for  the  advancement  of  the  move- 
ment with  which  he  was  identified.  Since  the 
organization  of  the  Brush  Run  Church  by  the 
Campbells  on  broad,  New  Testament  principles, 
it  had  been  the  studied  effort  of  sectarian  lead- 
ers to  keep  the  cause  of  reformation  in  the  back- 
giound  under  the  ban  of  unpopularity.  Its  ac- 
quisitions had  largely  been  confined  to  the  rural 
districts  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The  East 
had  scarcely  heard  of  the  movement,  and  in  the 
cities  it  had  hardly  gained  a  foothold.  The 
effect  of  th(!  election  of  Garfield,  the  Disciple  of 
Christ,  was,  as  Mr.  Burgess  had  foreseen,  to 
awaken  a  widespread  interest  in  the  hitherto  un- 


OTIS  A.  hurgp:ss 


285 


known  church.  What  might  have  been  the 
result  had  he  been  permitted  to  complete  his 
term  of  office,  is  a  matter  of  conjecture.  As  it 
was,  the  bullet  of  the  assassin  that  cut  him 
down,  went  to  the  heart  of  Mr.  Burgess.  At  the 
news  of  the  tragedy  he  wept  like  a  motlier  for 
her  child.  It  seemed  the  blasting  of  all  his 
hopes,  the  undoing  of  all  his  plans.  The  sting 
of  disappointment  never,  from  that  hour,  ceased 
to  atHict  hini. 

Gathering  his  strength  and  suppressing  his 
grief,  he  prepared  and  deliveri'd  a  eulogy  upon 
the  lamented  Garfield  at  a  union  nieniorial  serv- 
ice in  Chicago.  It  was  among  his  last  public 
efforts.  From  that  time  death  had  marked  him 
for  its  victim.  Failing  health  admonished  him 
that  he  must  surrender,  at  least  for  a  time,  the 
arduous  labors  of  tiie  ministry.  A  change  of 
climate  and  scenery  was  advised,  and  he  went  to 
Florida,  hoping  thereby  to  renew  his  strength. 
But  he  soon  returned  home,  more  debilitated 
than  when  he  left,  conscious  that  the  end  was 
not  far  away.  "During  the  last  few  days  he  re- 
mained on  earth  his  mind  was  occupied,  yea,  even 
possessed,  with  the  great  themes  he  was  wont  to 
handle  when  in  the  vigor  of  his  strong  manhood. 
He  was  constantly  impressing  his  thoughts  on 
students  whom  he  seemed  to  think  were  listen- 
ing to  him,  and  a  day  or  two  before  his  death  he 
prctu  hed  a  sermon  to  an  imaginary  audience  that 


286 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


was  perfect  in  its  thought  und  full  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  O.  A.  Burgess." 

Thus  he  passed  away  from  earth,  March  14, 
1882,  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  his  life.  Though 
compassed  by  so  brief  a  span,  so  intense  had 
been  his  activity  of  body  and  mind,  that  he  had 
.been  able  to  achieve  more  than  most  men  in  the 
allotted  three  score  and  ten. 

In  this  brief  survey  of  a  strong  character,  it 
has  been  my  purpose  to  i)resent,  in  rugged  out- 
line, the  career  of  O.  A.  Burgess,  with  just 
enough  of  the  minor  detail  to  enable  the  reader 
to  form  for  himself  a  conception  of  the  man  and 
his  place  among  the  forces  that  have  contributed 
to  the  remarkable  growth  of  the  Disciples  of 
Christ. 

Our  view  has  hitherto  been  confined  to  his 
public  labors — the  teacher,  conscientious  and 
painstaking;  the  preacher,  instructive  and  elo- 
quent; the  debater,  fearless  and  irresistible.  In 
these  closing  words,  let  us  take  a  closer  view  of 
the  man  as  he  appeared  among  his  friends,  and 
a  brief  glance  at  his  permanent  contribution  to 
the  cause  that  consunjed  him. 

The  real  character  and  worth  of  a  man  are  not 
always  a[)parent  in  his  public  labors.  To  know 
him  one  has  often  to  meet  hiin  off  duty,  and  to 
come  within  heart-touch  through  social  inter- 
course.   This  was  true  of  Mr.  Burgess.  There 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS 


287 


was  an  air  of  commanding  dignity  in  his  pulilic 
appearance  that  might  easily  be  mistaken  for  an 
austere  and  autocratic  disposition.  A  more  inti- 
mate acquaintance  was  sure  to  correct  any  such 
misapprehension. 

I  well  remember  the  strange  feeling  of  com- 
mingled awe  and  fear  with  which  I  sought,  for 
the  first  time,  admission  to  his  home.  I  had 
heard  of  him  only  as  the  annihilator  of  infidels, 
the  man  before  whose  tliundcrings  opposition 
fled  and  doubt  hid  her  face.  I  had  prepared  my- 
self for  the  cold  formalit  ies  of  one  who  held  him- 
self aloof  from  my  humble  woi'ld.  But  with 
what  surprise  I  found  myself  ushered  into  the 
presence  of  one  whose  cordial  greeting  and  un- 
disguised personal  interest  at  once  disarmed  all 
fear,  and  naade  me  feel  as  much  at  ease  as  though 
he  had  been  my  father!  And  a  father  he  was  to 
the  boys  and  girls  who,  in  the  old  Butler  days, 
gathered  about  him  for  instruction  and  advice. 

There  was  at  times  a  brusqueness,  an  impa- 
tience in  his  manner,  in  dealing  with  human 
errors.  He  hated  cant  and  sham  as  few  men  are 
capable;  but  withal  his  heart  was  as  tender  to 
the  touch  of  human  sympathy  as  a  child.  In 
beautiful  combination  were  to  be  found  force 
and  tenderness  of  feeling.  The  inherited  char- 
acteristics of  his  Puritan  ancestry,  mellowed  by 
the  congenial  atmosphere  of  Christian  fellowship 
among  the  Disciples,  made  of  him  an  admirable 


288 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


companion,  and  a  sympathetic  and  unchanging 
friend. 

The  cliaractcr  of  the  man  is  revealed  in  the.se 
words,  oft  repeated  to  the  young  men  who,  under 
his  instruction,  were  prei)aring  for  the  ministry: 
"Hide  yourself  behind  the  cross,  so  that  in  con- 
verting men  and  women  they  will  be  converted  to 
Christ,  not  to  you."  It  was  characteristic  of  his 
own  ministry  that  the  cross  was  uppermost. 

His  service  to  the  cause  of  Christ  at  a  critical 
period  has  contributed  an  abiding  element  to  its 
success.  As  a  preacher  and  defender  of  the 
truth  he  had  few  equals.  The  secret  of  his  great 
power  is  well  expressed  by  Prof.  Benton,  his 
life-time  friend,  in  the  following  paragraphs: 

"He  feared  God.  This  was  a  conspicuous 
trait.  It  means  sincerity,  reverence  for  God's 
authority,  and  a  sense  of  the  Divine  presence. 
These  were  never  bartered  away  for  public  ap- 
plausc;  nor  were  his  powers  of  thought,  learn- 
ing or  eloquence  sold  to  Satan  to  soften  down 
the  hideousness  of  vice,  or  to  argue  God  out  of 
existence.  His  most  vigorous  intellectual  efforts 
were  made  when  his  moral  indignation  was 
stirred  by  men  who  challenged  the  existence  of 
God,  the  truths  of  revealed  religion,  or  the 
claims  of  virtuous  living.  With  clearness  of 
reasoning,  with  effectiveness  of  resources,  and  in 
the  manliness  of  free  del)atc,  he  was  a  champion 
of  truth  and  of  righteousness. 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS 


289 


"He  was  loyal  to  truth.  The  pressing  and  ever 
present  question  of  our  brother  was,  What  is 
truth?  This  inquiry  was  never  in  the  spirit  of 
Pilate's  skepticism,  but  in  a  reverent  spirit,  that 
believes  in  its  reality  and  its  value.  The  thought- 
ful lines  on  his  face  read  thus:  What  is  truth? 
His  firm  tread  indicated  that  he  felt  beneath  him 
the  solid  rock  of  truth.  Having  deliberately  and 
conscientiously  sought  the  truth,  he  never  shrunk 
from  its  consequences.  He  spoke  it  fearlessly, 
unconcerned  about  its  reproach.  He  did  not 
need  to  be  backed  by  a  crowd,  and  the  fewer 
were  the  approving  voices  the  more  distinct  and 
ringing  was  his  own." 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  more  of  his  contribu- 
tion to  the  Christian  thought  of  his  time  has  not 
been  preserved.  A  volume  of  his  great  addresses 
in  defense  of  Christianity  would  be  an  invaluable 
contribution  to  the  apologetic  literature  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  But  so  intensely  active  was 
his  life  in  publicly  combating  error,  that  he  had 
little  time  for  the  quieter  service  with  pen.  The 
few  essays,  contrilnxtcd  to  current  literature,  re- 
veal the  same  bold  independence  of  thought  and 
clearness  of  vision  that  characterized  his  mes- 
sage from  pulpit  and  rostrum,  and  the  same  loy- 
alty to  the  Faith  "once  for  all"  delivered  to 
saints.  For  example,  in  a  valuable  contribution 
on  the  "Drift  of  Modern  Thought,"  he  wrote: 

"Look  at  the  system  founded  bv  Christ.  The 
19 


290 


MEN  OF  YESTERDAY 


filial  attempt  to  improve  on  that  resulted  in  an 
apostasy  from  it,  and  filled  the  world  with  con- 
tending factions  about  creeds.  Late  attempts  to 
lil)eralize  it  have  tilled  the  world  with  silly  prat- 
ing or  downright  blasphemy;  while  the  Christ, 
seen  through  the  system  which  in  fact  he  found- 
ed, stands  in  glorious  majesty,  without  a  rival 
and  without  a  peer." 

But  while  the  thoughts  have  largely  perished 
with  the  thinker,  there  is  an  abiding  element  in 
Mr.  Bui'gess'  service  to  which  not  only  his  own 
people,  but  a  much  larger  religious  circle  are  in- 
debted. If  he  did  not  silence  infidelity,  he  at 
least  changed  its  whole  method  of  attack,  and 
drove  it  from  its  vantage  ground  in  debate. 
Where  is  now  to  be  found  the  enemy  of  the 
Christian  faith,  like  Owen  and  Underwood,  de- 
fying its  representatives  to  a  public  defense  of 
the  ground  of  belief?  Since  the  day  when  Mr. 
Underwood  retired  from  the  field  before  the 
keen  logic  of  O.  A.  Burgess,  no  skeptic  has  been 
willing  to  subject  his  sophistries  to  the  search- 
light of  public  investigation  in  debate. 

In  a  narrower,  but  scarcely  less  important 
field,  the  service  rendered  by  Mr.  Burgess  to  his 
brotherhood  is  still  bearing  fruit.  At  a  critical 
period  in  the  history  of  the  Disciples,  he  stood 
beside  Isaac  Errett,  B.  W.  Johnson,  and  other 
champions  of  Christian  progress,  and,  by  his 
fidelity  to  noble  ideals,  helped  to  save  the  church 


OTIS  A.  BURGESS 


291 


from  the  niirrow  legalism  that  threatened  to 
undo  the  work  so  well  begun  by  Alexander 
Campbell  end  his  early  co-laborers. 


As  the  cause  for  which  they  contended  grows 
in  importance,  we  believe  the  names  of  Walter 
Scott,  Barton  W.  Stone,  John  Smith,  Isaac 
Errett,  Barton  W.  Johnson,  Otis  A.  Burgess, 
and  that  noble  band  of  worthies  who  with  them 
have  made  possible  the  days  of  enlargement  now 
upon  us,  will  shine  with  increased  splendor. 


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